The Lady delves into the shocking true story of how the former Duchess of York’s royal dresser went on trial for murder
ITV The Lady has reached its climax tonight with fans wondering how the royal true crime drama concludes.
Jane Andrews (played by Mia McKenna-Bruce) was living her dream life for nine years, working very closely to Sarah Ferguson (Natalie Dormer), the former Duchess of York.
But years after she was made redundant from the role, Jane was accused of murdering her boyfriend Thomas Cressman (Ed Speleers).
She had hit him over the head with a cricket bat before fatally stabbing him at their London flat and then fled the scene for several days before Jane was picked up by the police.
She claimed that he had previously been abusive, pushing her down the stairs and tying her to the bed to rape her, telling the court that she tried to fend him off but ended up fatally stabbing her boyfriend.
What happened to Jane Andrews?
ITV The Lady ends with Jane Andrews being found guilty for the murder of her boyfriend Thomas Cressman.
After being given a life sentence, Jane is seen in prison speaking to a psychiatrist who shares her belief that she suffers with Borderline Personality Disorder.
The four-part drama then skips to Jane catching up with her parents on the phone at Christmas time, with her mum sharing her concerns that she would be lonely.
But Jane quickly states this wasn’t the case as she had a new pen pal.
In the final scene, Jane is seen writing to someone with a newspaper clipping on her desk with the headline “King of the Wing”, followed by a picture of a man.
The end credits then reads: “In 2003, Jane Andrews appealed against her conviction on the grounds of fresh psychiatric evidence.
“The appeal was refused and her claims of childhood sexual abuse remains unproven.
“She was released on licence in 2015 but recalled to prison in 2018, following allegations of harassment from a former boyfriend.
“No evidence was found to support the allegations but she remained in prison until 2019.”
Who is ‘King of the Wing’?
It isn’t explained who the “King of the Wing” is with no clues indicating if he was connected to US politics or a prison governor.
The newspaper clipping features the surname Affcott, but there are no records of Jane exchanging letters with someone of this name.
However, she did have a pen pal called Mark Ellson who reportedly started writing to one another when he was in prison for fraud.
The Mirror previously reported Ellson describing her as “obsessive”, before adding: “She is a difficult person to understand but I have seen how erratic she can be. Others need to be aware of this too.”
Is The Lady ending accurate?
The Lady is mostly accurate but, similar to a lot of true crime dramas, some scenes and characters are fictionalised for entertainment purposes.
For instance, before the guilty verdict comes in, Jane is seen in the show getting dizzy outside of the court and faints, leading to a trip to the hospital.
While Jane did make a hospital visit while the trial was going ahead in real life, it was following an emotional breakdown rather than her fainting.
The character of Aleksandra (Ophelia Lovibond) also isn’t a real person, so Andrews didn’t stay with her at her London home during the trial.
But she was later diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, although this didn’t help Andrews win her appeal. The Lady is available to watch on ITVX.
If you have been affected by the issues mentioned in this article, call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch for confidential support.
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