The second half of our second day in the United Kingdom was spent in the land of Downton Abbey. We were quite fortunate that my friend Marystephanie and I had planned our trip for early March, since the Downton Abbey, aka Highclere Castle, had not yet fully opened for tourists and we were able to attend a smaller tour which included “light refreshments.”

As we pulled up to the grand home, you could almost hear the theme music being played and I half expected Mr. Carson, the head butler, to welcome us in.  

We were escorted through the Entrance Hall into the Saloon which stretches three stories high and was the setting for both Mary’s and Edith’s weddings.  In the Saloon, we were divided into four groups to tour the house, and our group repaired to the North Library to begin our visit.

 Once there, our guide asked where everyone was from.  One couple up front said they had come from Canada and the guide observed that the 4th Earl of Carnarvon helped Sir John MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada, create that country’s Constitution and shepherded it through the British Parliament, leading to the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.  

The guide then asked if there were any visitors from the States, which unsurprisingly elicited some boos from our fellow tourists.  No one was about to volunteer that information these days!

In any event, we toured the beautiful home of the Earls of Carnarvon, which was built in 1679 and remodeled in the 1840s.  Its current resident is the 8th Earl of Carnarvon and his wife.  

The 8th Earl’s name is George Reginald Oliver Molyneux Herbert.  His father was George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, Lord Porchester.  

Even after his father became the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, he continued to be called by his nickname Porchie.  Fans of The Crown may remember good old “Porchie” as a close friend of Queen Elizabeth II who shared her interest in horses and was her racing manager.  

This was all accurate and as it turned out, Elizabeth was a frequent visitor to Highclere and was godmother to the current Earl.  It was said Elizabeth loved watching Downton Abbey because of her fondness for Highclere.  Her opinion of The Crown was never publicly reported.

In 1895, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon married Almina, the illegitimate daughter of Alfred de Rothschild and Mina Wombwell. Her father gave her away with a dowry of £500,000. 

This financed the Egyptian archeological excavations of the Earl and his partner Howard Carter, who discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922.  Their daughter Eve was in the trio that first entered the tomb.  

The basement of Highclere is filled with the story of their excavations and contains many of the tools they used as well as the artifacts they brought back.

Sadly, one is not allowed to take photos inside Highclere, but it is a lovely place and its links to scenes in Downton Abbey are everywhere.    

We enjoyed our “light refreshments” which turned out to be a tray for each of us, filled with more food than we could possibly eat. Soup, quiche, finger sandwiches, scones, pastries and bottomless cups of tea.  

We packed up what we couldn’t finish and made our way back to London.  Tonight we would stay in, watch the telly, and rest up!

Contributed Photo

 Cue the Downton Abbey theme music!