Blythe-a-Day#4. Ancient Egypt. Big Girls Don't Cry: Lady Mary of Downton Abbey, filmed at Highclere Castle, home of family of Lord Carnarvon of King Tut's Tomb Fame
Here, Claudia is Lady Mary Crawley of "Downton Abbey." Mary certainly had many reasons to cry, but she mostly seemed to be stoic or sullen in the face of many misfortunes.
First, there was the fact that she could not inherit the estate--only a male heir could and thus she was put into a position of needing to find a suitable husband and have a male child.
When she FINALLY married Matthew (after what seemed like the most bedeviled courtship in TV history), the actor playing Matthew was leaving the show and thus was killed off--right after their baby--the prized male heir--was born.
Mary had several problems before and after this. I would have cried if I had a father who was such a financial doofus that even though he married my (rich American) mother in large part for her money, he did/said things like speaking admiringly of a man named Ponzi!!!
My Predictions: More Reasons to Cry:
I predict that Mary would have had reason to cry--but wouldn't--if fate had brought the estate to the conclusion I foresaw: her baby, George, was born just in time to fight--and, I predict, die--in WWII; then, there would have been no male heir. The estate would have fallen into disarray.
The Crawleys would have been living (barely) off of former glory though no one would have even cared that they existed unless one of them eventually became a Kardashian-clone and had a reality TV series.
In better news, Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck or Keith Richards would have bought the estate, repaired it, and had some great Rock 'n Roll parties.
Now, the Ancient Egypt connection: many scenes were shot at Highclere Castle, centuries old home of Carnarvon Family. Lord Carnarvon financed the search for and excavation of King Tut's tomb.
For a bit more very intriguing info below, an excerpt from Highclere Castle - Official Site, Lady Carnarvon's blog:
"The 20th Century"
"In many ways Highclere Castle epitomised the confidence and glamour of the Edwardian period in the first few years of the twentieth century. Visitor books record the house parties full of politicians, technological innovators, Egyptologists, aviators and soldiers.
During the First World War, Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, transformed the Castle into a hospital, and patients began to arrive from Flanders in September 1914. She became an adept nurse and a skilled healer and hundreds of letters from patients and their families bear testament to her untiring work and spirit of generosity.
The Castle returned to a private home and in 1922 the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, the first global world media event...."
--https://www.highclerecastle.co.uk
Blythe-a-Day#4. Ancient Egypt. Big Girls Don't Cry: Lady Mary of Downton Abbey, filmed at Highclere Castle, home of family of Lord Carnarvon of King Tut's Tomb Fame
Here, Claudia is Lady Mary Crawley of "Downton Abbey." Mary certainly had many reasons to cry, but she mostly seemed to be stoic or sullen in the face of many misfortunes.
First, there was the fact that she could not inherit the estate--only a male heir could and thus she was put into a position of needing to find a suitable husband and have a male child.
When she FINALLY married Matthew (after what seemed like the most bedeviled courtship in TV history), the actor playing Matthew was leaving the show and thus was killed off--right after their baby--the prized male heir--was born.
Mary had several problems before and after this. I would have cried if I had a father who was such a financial doofus that even though he married my (rich American) mother in large part for her money, he did/said things like speaking admiringly of a man named Ponzi!!!
My Predictions: More Reasons to Cry:
I predict that Mary would have had reason to cry--but wouldn't--if fate had brought the estate to the conclusion I foresaw: her baby, George, was born just in time to fight--and, I predict, die--in WWII; then, there would have been no male heir. The estate would have fallen into disarray.
The Crawleys would have been living (barely) off of former glory though no one would have even cared that they existed unless one of them eventually became a Kardashian-clone and had a reality TV series.
In better news, Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck or Keith Richards would have bought the estate, repaired it, and had some great Rock 'n Roll parties.
Now, the Ancient Egypt connection: many scenes were shot at Highclere Castle, centuries old home of Carnarvon Family. Lord Carnarvon financed the search for and excavation of King Tut's tomb.
For a bit more very intriguing info below, an excerpt from Highclere Castle - Official Site, Lady Carnarvon's blog:
"The 20th Century"
"In many ways Highclere Castle epitomised the confidence and glamour of the Edwardian period in the first few years of the twentieth century. Visitor books record the house parties full of politicians, technological innovators, Egyptologists, aviators and soldiers.
During the First World War, Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon, transformed the Castle into a hospital, and patients began to arrive from Flanders in September 1914. She became an adept nurse and a skilled healer and hundreds of letters from patients and their families bear testament to her untiring work and spirit of generosity.
The Castle returned to a private home and in 1922 the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, the first global world media event...."
--https://www.highclerecastle.co.uk