Across all three series Peter’s patient professional manner is tested by Simon’s disappearance and return, Beatrice’s upheavals and a final discovery about his own parentage. His instinct is always to solve other people’s difficulties, even when his own life resists a tidy legal answer.
S1: Simon’s disappearance turns private grief into an investigation while Beatrice returns.
S2: Simon’s return puts the family and practice at risk; Peter tries to protect both.
S3: Health problems and the discovery about his parentage leave his own identity unresolved.
Beatrice arrives from rehabilitation in the opening episode and repeatedly disrupts Peter’s ordered life. Pregnancy and motherhood give her story greater responsibility without removing the volatility that makes her relationship with Peter so distinctive.
S1: Arrives after rehabilitation and unsettles Peter’s ordered household.
S2: Pregnancy and Petra’s birth make responsibility central to her story.
S3: Money, parenting and Peter’s final family discovery test the siblings’ bond.
Lyle develops from an ambitious junior solicitor into a committed advocate with roots in Market Shipborough. His cases increasingly test his independence, while his relationships with Honor and Emily complicate his professional confidence.
S1: Considers London, but the Narbutowicz case confirms his attachment to Market Shipborough.
S2: Takes greater responsibility while Simon’s return and his feelings for Honor complicate his loyalty.
S3: Meets Emily and returns to Stockport, revealing the roots of his ambition.
Gloria is the emotional and administrative centre of Kingdom & Kingdom. Her bereavement, family responsibilities and loyalty to Peter reveal a life considerably richer than the conventional role of office secretary.
S1: Her bereavement and Scott’s trouble reveal the family life behind the efficient secretary.
S2: Keeps the practice functioning as Simon’s return destabilises everyone around it.
S3: Remains the office’s practical and emotional centre while Peter’s health worsens.
Simon is first an absence, then a dangerous presence. His debts, hidden money, relationship with Honor and contested account of the Kingdom family turn the first two series into a continuing mystery.
S1: Exists through clues—debts, Christopher Waller and Honor’s account—rather than direct explanation.
S2: Returns, hides cash, faces arrest and draws the practice into danger.
Finale: Claims the money belonged to their father before his death closes one mystery and leaves others open.
Sidney’s repeated campaigns and disputes make him comic, persistent and occasionally perceptive. Through him the series returns to questions about development, ownership and who gets heard in a changing town.
Across the series: Repeated disputes about roads, land and local authority make him both comic client and persistent civic dissenter.
