George V and Queen Mary made to Went
worth Woodhouse, a country house in
Yorkshire, in 1912—to “restate the impor
tance of monarchy,” according to Fel
lowes. Like the real trip, Downton Abbey’s
royal extravaganza includes a spectacular
parade—created with hundreds of extras
in periodprecise costumes, cannons,
and horses—and whitetie wining and
dining. The event is so large in scale that
Carson, the family’s beloved former butler
played by Jim Carter, comes out of a palsy
induced retirement to return to Downton
and ensure that nary a teaspoon is out
of place. “Mary reaches out for her hero
Carson to save the day,” explains Michelle
Dockery of her character, who has taken
over estate reins. “I love that relationship
between Mary and Carson—it’s one of the
lovely moments of the film.”
Dame Maggie Smith, as the dowager
countess and resident queen of lethal
quip, gets a new sparring partner in
Imelda Staunton, who plays the dowa
ger’s distant cousin Lady Bagshaw. (A bit
of Downton trivia: Staunton is married to
Jim Carter in real life.) Director Michael
Engler expects that the cousins locking
haughty horns will especially delight
Downton diehards. And fans need notworry for Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael),
Lady Mary’s longsuffering sister who
ended up marrying a marquess. “The deli
cious irony of where we left the TV series
was that the most socially vibrant of the
family ended up being the one who had
the least success in love before,” says
Hugh Bonneville, who plays Crawley
patriarch Lord Grantham, adding: “Little
flashes of sibling rivalries still return when
Edith visits. But on the whole, the family
is pulling together in the right direction
and the forces of drama are actually exter
nal, which is quite fun. It’s sort of Downton
versus the world.” —julie miller“The family is pull ing togetherin the right direction and the forcesof drama are external, which is quite fun.”MASTERPIECE
CINEMA
The Crawleys
and the staff of
Downton. For
who’s who, see
page 129.118 VANITY FAIR SEPTEMBER 2019
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