The Lady is a gripping four-part royal true crime drama about the former Duchess of York’s dresser in the 1980s and 1990s.
ITV’s The Lady concludes tonight, leaving fans curious about how the royal true crime drama wrapped up.
For nine years, Jane Andrews (portrayed by Mia McKenna-Bruce) lived what seemed an idyllic existence, working in close proximity to Sarah Ferguson (Natalie Dormer), the former Duchess of York.
However, years following her redundancy from the position, Jane faced accusations of killing her partner Thomas Cressman (Ed Speleers).
She had struck him on the head with a cricket bat before delivering a fatal stab wound at their London residence, subsequently fleeing the scene for several days until police apprehended her.
Jane maintained that he had been violent towards her previously, forcing her down the stairs and restraining her to the bed to assault her, telling the court that she attempted to defend herself but ultimately inflicted the fatal injury on her partner.
What happened to Jane Andrews?
ITV’s The Lady concludes with Jane Andrews being convicted of murdering her partner Thomas Cressman.
Following a life sentence, Jane is shown in prison consulting with a psychiatrist who agrees with her assessment that she has Borderline Personality Disorder.
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The four-part series then jumps forward to Jane speaking with her parents by telephone at Christmas, with her mother expressing worry about her being isolated.
However, Jane swiftly dismisses this concern, revealing she had acquired a new correspondent.
In the closing moments, Jane is depicted writing to someone with a newspaper cutting on her desk bearing the headline “King of the Wing”, accompanied by a photograph of a man. The closing credits state: “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.
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“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’?
The identity of the “King of the Wing” remains unexplained, with no indication whether he was linked to American politics or served as a prison governor.
The newspaper cutting displays the surname Affcott, though no records exist of Jane corresponding with anyone bearing this name.
She did, however, maintain contact with a pen pal named Mark Ellson, who allegedly began writing to her whilst he was imprisoned 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 remains largely faithful to events, though like many true crime dramas, certain scenes and characters have been fictionalised for dramatic effect.
For example, before the guilty verdict is delivered, Jane is depicted in the programme becoming light-headed outside the courtroom and collapsing, resulting in hospital treatment. Whilst Jane did visit hospital during the actual trial, it followed an emotional collapse rather than a fainting episode.
The character Aleksandra (Ophelia Lovibond) is also fictional, so Andrews didn’t lodge with her at her London residence throughout the trial proceedings.
However, she was subsequently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, though this diagnosis didn’t assist Andrews in winning her appeal.
The Lady is available to watch on ITVX.
