S05.E09: A Moorland Holiday (Christmas Special)

[Badger]

I think it's going to turn out that Bertie is also a child born out of wedlock  It wouldn't surprise me if he is the son or brother of the guy who owns Brancaster Castle where the Sinderbys entertained the Granthams.  Maybe he's even the oldest son or older brother who would have inherited except for the fact that his parents were unmarried when he was born.  

[Roseanna]

I just watched the episode anew and noticed an implausibility of Violet's story about her and Prince Kuragin's romance.

She told that they had danced and skate together and when they decided to elope, they were going to his yacht that was waiting in the harbor. Now, they could skate only in the winter, obviously on the river Neva, but in the winter the Gulf of Finland would have been frozen and they couldn't have sailed with the yacht. Although there were icebreakers (the island fortress before St Peterburg, Kronstadt, had one from 1864), they weren't for yachts.

If there is any "truth" in this story, Violet and Prince Kuragin would decided to take a train.

[Roseanna]

At this point, I don't think there's any question that Mary nominally will be in charge of Downton until George is of age. I forget the details but Matthew's magical letter/will that he wrote on a napkin and left in his office left the half of the estate he already owned to Mary with the understanding it would fall to any son if Mary had a son.  I think she'd *like* a title beyond Lady Crawley since she can never be the Countess of Grantham but none of the suitors including Henry Talbot seem to be more titled than her.

Matthew left all his fortune without any reservations and conditions solely to Mary, and nothing to his unborn child. Matthew's inheritance from Lavinia's father had been invested in the estate. That means that Mary will be in charge of Downton so long she wants. Even when George will inherit the title after his grandfather's death, he must share power in the estate with his mother.

Mary isn't Lady Crawley as she isn't married to Lord Crawley (who would be her unborn brother) but Lady Mary Crawley, both because she is a daughter of an Earl and because Matthew's surname was Crawley but he wasn't titled.

[Avaleigh]

Mary isn't Lady Crawley as she isn't married to Lord Crawley (who would be her unborn brother) but Lady Mary Crawley, both because she is a daughter of an Earl and because Matthew's surname was Crawley but he wasn't titled.

A minor correction. If the Robert and Cora's son had been born then he would have been Lord Downton until Robert's death. (Viscount Downton.)