WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Bridgerton season 2!
Netflix’s Bridgerton brings numerous true stories from the Regency era to its characters, including a real boxer as the basis for Will Mondrich. Aside from the fictionalized Will being based on a real person, Bridgerton’s series has included numerous true stories by portraying the actual figures, most notably through Queen Charlotte and King George III. While Bridgerton’s historical inaccuracies take many liberties when including the real-life characters, the series still makes it a priority to include some of the lesser-known true stories of the Ton.
Introduced in season 1 as Simon’s confidante and boxing sparring partner, Will Mondrich quickly became involved in Bridgerton’s inner conflicts when Lord Featherington asked him to fix a fight. Moving into Bridgerton season 2, Will’s character primarily left the boxing ring as he began a gentlemen’s club with his wife, which became the most popular spot after Colin Bridgerton recruited his friends as members. Although Will’s story has become more fictionalized throughout Bridgerton season 2, his character is originally based on one of the most famous London boxers of the Regency era.
Bridgerton’s Will Mondrich (an apt anagram) is based on Bill Richmond, a London boxer originally born into slavery in New York, whose talents were originally discovered during the Revolutionary War by a British officer. The officer first saw Richmond fighting with British soldiers in taverns, whereafter he arranged for the boxer to fight more soldiers for his entertainment. The real-life Bridgerton character’s freedom was then bought by the British officer, who brought him to London in 1777 while also arranging Richmond’s literacy education and apprenticeship for cabinetmaking. However, unlike Bridgerton’s character Will Mondrich, Richmond didn’t start boxing professionally until he was in his 40s, and continued his love of boxing until his death in 1829.
Bridgerton season 1 also includes the real Bill Richmond’s friendship with 2nd Baron Thomas Pitt, a well-titled man in London who received boxing instruction from Richmond. As such, it appears Bridgerton’s Simon Basset is meant to represent Thomas Pitt in accordance with Will Mondrich’s character, though Will was never an employee of Simon. However, Simon does often gets boxing instruction from Will in Bridgerton season 1, with the two forming a friendship presumably closer than that of Richmond and Pitt. Another historical change in Bridgerton is the storyline in which Will Mondrich throws a fight for the now-deceased Lord Featherington, as there’s no indication that the real Bill Richmond ever agreed to such an act.
However, as with the majority of Bridgerton’s historical liberties in which racism wasn’t as pervasive in this version of Regency London, the series’ portrayal of the real figure omits the many racist attacks on Richmond. In real life, Richmond was subjected to horrible insults by many of the white citizens of London, with the boxer even being heinously called “the black devil” for marrying a white woman. Such insults ensued in brawls with Richmond to defend his honor, which Bridgerton seasons 1 and 2 leave out of the story. Yet, Bridgerton’s historical adjustments allow for a much more comfortable and hopeful story for Will Mondrich, particularly surrounding his success within high society and the other character changes with Simon also being a Black man in Regency London.
While it’s unclear how Bridgerton season 3's story will depict Will Mondrich’s life, the fictional story already seems to be departing from Bill Richmond’s later life. The true story of Bridgerton’s Will Mondrich character would have seen him continue boxing well into his life, with the athlete retiring only to run a boxing academy of his own. In Bridgerton season 2, Will instead opens a gentlemen's club, though the real Bill Richmond only ever owned a London pub while his boxing career was still active.