Britain’s ‘forgotten’ princess and her home are new Downton stars
A DECADE ago, the makers of Downton Abbey chose a stately home for what would become one of Britain’s most popular period dramas, turning down several rivals along the way.
The rest, ordinarily, would be history. But in a remarkably well-timed twist of fate, one previous contender, Harewood House, is to have its onscreen fortunes revived.
The blockbuster film of Downton Abbey will bring to the public the story of a little-known royal resident, as Harewood “stars as itself ” on the big screen and the plot weaves together royal historic fact and movie fiction.
Harewood’s former chatelaine was Princess Mary, the daughter of George V and Queen Mary. She will appear as a character in the film, which comes soon after her personal archive was made public for the first time.
The archive, comprising letters, diaries and treasured cuttings as well as the clothing and objets d’art already on display in the house, has been handed over to the National Trust for cataloguing and research.
The happy coincidence will allow curators to capitalise on the “Downton Abbey effect”, which will see fans from around the world descending on the West Yorkshire stately home.
In particular, staff hope to use the film, which is set in 1927 and written by the TV series’ creator Julian Fellowes, to revive the nation’s curiosity about Princess Mary.
Despite her being of one king and sister of two others, her life story has been largely forgotten.
The house, which was kept open for visitors during weeks of filming last October, will appear in key scenes in the Downton film, which will see all of the main ITV cast return for a storyline about a royal visit.
Kate Phillips, who has previously appeared in War and Peace, The Crown and as Jane Seymour in Wolf Hall, will play Princess Mary, who moves to Harewood after marrying the 6th Earl and is visited by her parents, the king and queen, for a glamorous ball.
The house, which is Grade I listed and designated by Arts Council England as holding an “outstanding collection” for the nation, was originally considered for the filming of the TV series of Downton Abbey.
The producers eventually chose the more private Highclere Castle in Hampshire, in part because it would allow them more freedom.
In a previous interview with The Telegraph, the 8th Earl of Harewood, a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, said he believed they would have accepted if they had received an offer to use Harewood.
But he warned of the pitfalls: “You can’t just let the prop guys move a piece of Chippendale furniture. You’ve got to have specialised people in and plan ahead.”
The filming of the feature-length story, to be released next month, saw curators poised to help move furniture, paintings and artefacts, with 30 house clocks stopped so the chimes did not interfere with continuity.