Very odd undertaking for the Queen

WHEN a downton Abbey episode featured a turkish diplomat dying while in bed with Lady Mary, viewers scarcely believed that his body could be whisked away, with fellow guests remaining blissfully unaware.

Real life can, though, be even more startling. the Queen’s bridesmaid Lady Pamela Hicks has made the astonishing claim that a guest died after lunch at her family’s stately home. And, even more surprisingly, that Her Majesty helped dispose of the body.

the unfortunate guest was the Maharaja of Gwalior, who came to Broadlands, in Hampshire, to dine with Lady Pamela’s father, the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was the last Viceroy of India as well as Prince Philip’s beloved uncle.

‘After lunch, they’re sitting in the drawing room side by side,’ Lady Pamela says. ‘Reminiscing, he leans towards my father, who thinks it’s some intimate whisper and leans towards him too, but the maharaja keeps on leaning and dies.’

Speaking on her daughter India Hicks’s podcast, she continues: ‘So my father panics — and when my father panics, the only person who could tell him what to do was the Queen.

‘So he rings the Queen and says: “I’ve just had Gwalior for lunch,” and she says, “Really, how is he? do give him my best wishes.” And then my father says: “He’s dead!” the Queen had to get the poor maharaja moved away.’

downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes tells me that he had not heard about the incident when he wrote his scene, but is fascinated by the parallels.