- 4 months ago
We’ll need tea and crumpets for this one... Join us as we explore the historical moments, attitudes, and details Downton Abbey got right, from inheritance entails and Titanic-linked tragedies to World War I trauma, the Spanish Flu, death in childbirth, and the King’s first radio broadcasts. We’ll also examine servants’ romances, class tensions, fashion, royal scandals, technology, and true-life inspirations like Escoffier and The Sketch. Discover how real events — from Nazi SA violence and the Beer Hall Putsch to wealthy American brides — fueled the drama.
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00:00When Anna told me, I thought she must have dreamt it.
00:02Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04And today, we're counting down our picks for historical moments,
00:07attitudes, or elements Downton Abbey got right.
00:10It's been rather a chop and change evening downstairs.
00:13Be warned, there will be spoilers.
00:16Number 20, Auguste Escoffier.
00:18One of the charming things about Downton Abbey is how real historical events
00:22and figures are woven into the show to make it feel more grounded.
00:26What's this?
00:26Alfred's got his test at the Ritz.
00:29I'm happy for you, Alfred.
00:30Alfred Nugent's storyline with the Ritz is a perfect example.
00:34In series four, Alfred heads to London to chase his dreams of becoming a chef.
00:38If you listen closely, you'll hear the name of the revered chef Auguste Escoffier
00:43mentioned during this journey of his.
00:45In 1917, at a sister hotel in New York, the chef, Monsieur Dia,
00:49altered a soup made popular by Monsieur Gouffe and the great Monsieur Escoffier.
00:55Escoffier was indeed a legendary French chef,
00:58also called, quote, the king of chefs and chef of kings.
01:02He didn't just make food taste good.
01:04He transformed French cuisine by making it glamorous, modern and disciplined.
01:08Escoffier had an enormous influence on all chefs.
01:12And even the young chefs nowadays, you know, the ones who are 20 and 22,
01:15they may not realize it.
01:16But a lot, a lot of what is happening in the kitchen nowadays still goes back to Escoffier.
01:20He cooked for kings, emperors and celebrities while creating iconic dishes,
01:26like the beloved Peche Melba.
01:28Well, we have difficult decisions ahead, but don't worry, we won't keep you waiting.
01:32Number 19, The Sketch.
01:35Remember The Sketch, the magazine owned by Michael Gregson and later inherited by Edith Pelham?
01:40While it plays an important role in their storyline,
01:42it may be inspired by the real-life Sketch magazine,
01:45which ran in London from 1893 to 1959.
01:49You know, all sorts of toffs are writing for magazines nowadays.
01:52Some of them even advertise face creams and cigarettes and the rest of it.
01:56The Society publication was famous for its elegant illustrations of royalties,
02:01theater stars and fashion trends.
02:03Oh, and it was also the first magazine to publish Agatha Christie's short stories.
02:07In short, it was where London society loved to flaunt itself.
02:11So we have to get the proofs to the printers by 4 a.m.?
02:13Well, we can't mean to do it yourself.
02:15Why not?
02:17I refuse to be defeated by a petulant and overweight tyrant.
02:21In the show, Lady Grantham is even seen reading the magazine after the Titanic sinks,
02:26showing how the series mixes glamorous details with heavier historical realities.
02:31Downton Abbey is clever that way.
02:32I thought it was supposed to be unsinkable.
02:35Every mountain is unclimbable until someone climbs it,
02:38so every ship is unsinkable until it sinks.
02:40Number 18.
02:42Women couldn't inherit estates.
02:44It may seem strange to some that Lord and Lady Grantham have three daughters,
02:48yet their estate must pass to a male relative.
02:50Mr. Crawley was his lordship's cousin and heir to the title.
02:54But I thought Lady Mary was the heir.
02:56She was a girl, stupid.
02:57Girls can't inherit.
02:58But now Mr. Crawley's dead, and Mr. Patrick was his only son.
03:02So what happens next?
03:03That's because Downton Abbey, like many estates then, was entailed.
03:07This means the property couldn't simply go to anybody the owner wished.
03:11It had to pass down through the male line, usually to the closest male heir.
03:16This helped prevent estates from leaving the family once daughters married.
03:20You do know I mean to involve you in the running of the estate.
03:23Don't worry.
03:24There are plenty of hours in the day.
03:26And of course I'll have the weekend.
03:28We'll discuss this later.
03:30We mustn't bore the ladies.
03:31So when James Crawley and his son perished on the Titanic,
03:34the Downton estate ownership shifted to Matthew Crawley, a distant cousin.
03:38Luckily, Matthew marries Mary, and they have a son before he dies,
03:42keeping the property in the family.
03:44Yep, it's a frustrating but fascinating detail that adds to the show's drama.
03:49Just think.
03:50We've done our duty.
03:53Downton is safe.
03:56Papa must be dancing a jig.
03:57I'm dancing a jig.
03:59Number 17.
04:00The Kamal Pamuk Inspiration
04:02Scandals are juicy enough, but one that ends in death is downright jaw-dropping.
04:08Lady Mary Crawley, I presume.
04:11You presume right.
04:12Sorry to be so disheveled.
04:14We've been on a train since dawn and we had to change in a shed.
04:17You don't look disheveled to me.
04:19That's what makes the story of Mr. Kamal Pamuk so unforgettable.
04:23Pamuk, the handsome Turkish diplomat,
04:25sweeps Mary into a secret affair only to die suddenly in her room.
04:29Who's on duty now, the hall boy?
04:31Will you really let him find a man in your bedroom?
04:33What a story.
04:34The scandal forces the household into damage control as his body is carried back to his room.
04:40Here's the wild part.
04:41While Mr. Pamuk is fictional, the event itself is inspired by a true story.
04:45Anna, I will not insult you by asking that you also conceal Lady Mary's shame.
04:52Let us go.
04:56Julian Fellows revealed he learned about this from a friend who discovered a dusty diary belonging to a great-great-aunt.
05:02The diary contained the same shocking details, a diplomat sneaking into a young woman's room, dying there,
05:08and the chaos of covering it up.
05:10Very strange.
05:11I had an uncle who went like that, finished his cocoa, closed his book, and fell back dead on the pillow.
05:16I don't think Mr. Pamuk bothered with cocoa much, or books.
05:20He had other interests.
05:21Number 16.
05:23Death in childbirth was common.
05:25Lady Sybil Branson's death was one of the most heartbreaking moments in Downton Abbey.
05:29What makes it even more powerful is how tragically real it was for women of her time.
05:33These early labor pains show that the womb is preparing itself for birth.
05:37Dr. Clarkson, I'm afraid Lord Grantham doesn't enjoy medical detail.
05:41The point is, can we all go back to bed?
05:43You can.
05:44After giving birth, Sybil suffers violent seizures brought on by eclampsia.
05:48The condition is caused by high blood pressure in pregnancy, which can lead to organ failure, seizures, and even death.
05:55I don't mean to insult Sir Philip, but Dr. Clarkson knows Sybil. He's known her all her life.
05:59So you take her to the hospital?
06:01I would have taken her an hour ago.
06:03God help us.
06:05Today, doctors can detect and manage it early, but in the 20th century, it was often a silent killer.
06:11Pre-eclampsia wasn't well understood then, and even when doctors discovered the signs, treatment options were limited.
06:17So by writing Sybil's death this way, the show wasn't trying to tug at heartstrings.
06:22It was reflecting a brutal reality of history.
06:24Please wake up.
06:26Please don't leave me.
06:28Don't leave me.
06:29Please wake up, love.
06:31Please don't leave me.
06:32Number 15.
06:33The estate money woes.
06:35What Downton Abbey does brilliantly well is explore some poignant truths of its time period, such as the money troubles of the aristocracy.
06:42I want to explain why I think we should turn down Wavell's offer.
06:46I know we are only the caretakers of Downton, but Papa, some things have to change.
06:52True, but we mustn't destroy what we're trying to protect.
06:55For centuries, a grand country estate was the beating heart of an aristocratic family's identity, power, and status.
07:02To be lord of the manor meant wealth, influence, but by the early 20th century, things began to change.
07:10I've sacrificed too much to Downton to give in now.
07:13I refuse to be the failure.
07:16The earl who dropped the torch and let the flame go out.
07:18I hate to state the obvious, but if there's not enough money to run it, Downton must go.
07:25Farming profits shrank, staff disappeared after the war, and rising taxes drained even the wealthiest households.
07:32Men like Robert married a rich American heiress, such as Cora, just to keep the estates afloat.
07:37Yet sometimes, that wasn't even enough.
07:40It took Matthew's fresh, business-minded approach to save the estate.
07:44Unfortunately for some, they lost their estates entirely.
07:48You started on the Orgean task.
07:50How are you getting on?
07:51Not badly.
07:53I'm beginning to get a sense of how it all works.
07:55In a way, it's probably best you tackle it by yourself.
07:57Number 14.
07:59The King's Speech
08:00In Downton Abbey's fifth series, viewers are drawn to a transformative moment,
08:04not on a battlefield, but in the drawing room.
08:07Did you see that the King is going to speak on the wireless?
08:09It was in the paper today.
08:11Don't be silly.
08:12No, it's true.
08:13For the opening of the British Empire exhibition, it's being broadcast on the 23rd.
08:17Just thought you'd like to know.
08:18Lord Grantham agrees to having a wireless in the house just to hear the King's speech.
08:22The Crawleys and others gather around this strange device.
08:26The King's voice suddenly fills the room.
08:28It's a powerful, understated scene that mirrors history.
08:31It gives me the greatest pleasure and satisfaction
08:36to come here today with the Queen
08:40for the purpose of opening the British Empire exhibition.
08:46I suppose he can't hear us.
08:49No, it doesn't work like that.
08:50The groundbreaking radio broadcast happened in 1924
08:54when King George V opened the British Empire exhibition over BBC Radio.
08:58For many, it was probably the first time ever hearing the monarch's voice.
09:02Indeed, it marked the dawn of a new era where the monarch's presence
09:06could no longer travel only through carriages, but via signals.
09:09Mrs. Hughes is right.
09:11The radio somehow makes the King more real.
09:15Is it a good thing?
09:18The monarchy has thrived on magic and mystery.
09:21Strip them away and people may think the royal family is just like us.
09:25Number 13, The King and Queen's visit.
09:28Infusing historical events into its tantalizing storyline
09:31didn't just stop with the Downton Abbey series.
09:33Your Majesties, welcome to Downton Abbey.
09:36We're glad to be here, Lady Grantham.
09:39Grantham.
09:41You remember Lord Grantham's mother.
09:44Hello, Lady Grantham.
09:47Can I help you?
09:49Someone must, Sarah.
09:50I may never rise again.
09:52In its 2019 follow-up film, the Crawley household is thrown into chaos
09:56when they learn that King George V and Queen Mary are coming to visit.
10:00While the Crawleys are fictional, the event isn't plucked out of thin air.
10:03In real life, King George and Mary toured stately homes,
10:07including a 1912 visit to Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire.
10:10Things seem calmer in the North.
10:12You mean after the strike, sir?
10:14Yes.
10:15If calmer means more resigned, I'm not sure what the future holds.
10:19That's where Fellows got the idea that fuels the film's narrative.
10:23During this time, these visits were a way of strengthening ties with aristocracy.
10:28So the attempted murder and other elements may be embellishments,
10:31but the heart of the story is rooted in truth.
10:34Why are you even here?
10:35I didn't suspecting myself until last night.
10:37I was out to know you're giving up on a free island.
10:39Isn't it free now?
10:40Not with the bloody crown around its neck.
10:42Get it.
10:42Number 12.
10:44The Spanish Flu
10:45Lavinia Swire didn't have such a long time on Downton Abbey,
10:48all thanks to the deadly illness that claimed her.
10:51The Spanish flu was found as well to Yorkshire.
10:53And to Downton.
10:54Dr. Clarkson says he's got 10 cases already.
10:57For those who may not recall, she was supposed to marry Matthew,
11:00even though his heart belonged to Mary.
11:02Shortly after learning of their feelings for one another,
11:05Lavinia dies of Spanish influenza.
11:07I do have some self-worth.
11:11Just not enough to make you marry the wrong person.
11:14What you're saying is pointless.
11:15Mary's marrying somebody else.
11:19Is she?
11:22We'll see.
11:23The flu was particularly deadly for young people like her
11:26and could turn fatal in 24 hours.
11:28That's why she looked stable at one point,
11:31only to worsen drastically later.
11:33Though unlike her, Cora survives.
11:35Historically, the Spanish flu occurred during 1918 and 1920,
11:39right after World War I,
11:41killing millions worldwide.
11:43While the show inserts it into its storyline,
11:46the real pandemic was far more serious than depicted.
11:48Be happy.
11:51For my sake.
11:57Promise me.
12:01It's all I want for you.
12:03Remember Michael Gregson,
12:08Edith's ill-fated lover?
12:09He cared for her so deeply
12:10that he planned to change his citizenship,
12:13hoping to divorce his wife and marry Edith.
12:15He never returned after traveling to Munich for that purpose.
12:19It's not until Series 5 that we learn
12:20that Gregson had been dead for a long time,
12:23killed during the beer hall putsch.
12:25Edith's about to receive some very bad news.
12:27What?
12:28How do you know?
12:29Her editor's on his way to see her this afternoon.
12:31I'm afraid it's what we've been waiting for.
12:33However much you expect it,
12:35it's still painful when it arrives.
12:36Robert reveals that Gregson was killed
12:38by Adolf Hitler's brown shirts,
12:40which ties his tragic end to a true event.
12:43The beer hall putsch was Hitler's failed attempt
12:45to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich.
12:48It took days for the police
12:49to get the city back under control,
12:50and by then,
12:51any trace of Gregson was buried.
12:53They found him now, of course,
12:55or what's left of him.
12:56The revolution left several people dead
12:58and ultimately led to Hitler's arrest.
13:01Once again,
13:02Downton Abbey wove its drama
13:03into the fabric of real-world events.
13:05Oh, poor Edith.
13:07How is she taking it?
13:08Hard to say.
13:10It wasn't a surprise, of course,
13:12but there's always a shred of hope, isn't there?
13:14Number 10.
13:15The Titanic.
13:16I thought it was supposed to be unsinkable.
13:19Every mountain is unclimbable
13:20until someone climbs it,
13:22so every ship is unsinkable until it sinks.
13:24The first episode of the series begins in 1912
13:27and sees the household waking up
13:29and getting ready as usual,
13:30only to receive news of perhaps
13:32the most famous nautical accident in history,
13:34the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
13:37I understand most of the ladies
13:38were taken off in time.
13:40You mean the ladies in first class?
13:43God help the poor devils below decks.
13:46Over 1,500 people of varying classes perished,
13:49but Downton Abbey made the tragedy personal
13:51for the Crawley family
13:52when they discover that Lord Grantham's cousin
13:54and heir presumptive to the earldom James Crawley
13:57and James' son Patrick,
13:59Lady Mary's fiancée,
14:00both died in the accident.
14:01Does this mean I'll have to go into full mourning?
14:05My first cousin
14:07and his son
14:09are almost certainly dead.
14:12It's this galvanizing event
14:14that sets the whole drama in motion.
14:16While fictional here,
14:17for some aristocratic families,
14:19loss of heirs would have been
14:20a real problem in the aftermath.
14:23Number 9, World War I.
14:25Because I very much regret to announce
14:26that we are at war with Germany.
14:32The Great War was like nothing
14:34the world had ever seen.
14:35All of Europe became locked
14:37in a war of attrition,
14:38and soldiers who managed to survive
14:40the grueling trench warfare
14:41were irreparably changed
14:42both physically and psychologically.
14:44I can't go back!
14:46No matter what...
14:46No one's asking you to go back, Mr. Lark.
14:48Though Downton Abbey skips years in the war,
14:50it does accurately show
14:52the harrowing effects on soldiers.
14:54And luckily for productions
14:55looking to portray the First World War,
14:57people like Taff Gillingham exist.
14:59A fan and stickler for history,
15:01he actually has trenches in Ipswich
15:03that he rents for accurate portrayal on screen,
15:06and also taught the actors
15:07how to load ammunition properly.
15:09And Downton was even accurate
15:11off the battlefield.
15:12High Clear Castle,
15:14the real-life location,
15:15was in fact involved in the war effort.
15:17Though as an actual hospital,
15:19rather than a convalescent home.
15:22Number 8.
15:23Views on Technology
15:24Why didn't you put the lights on?
15:26I dare do.
15:26Well, it's electricity,
15:27and not the devil's hand they work.
15:29I'll have to get used to it sooner or later.
15:31While there was a great deal of optimism
15:32regarding new inventions
15:33throughout the 19th and 20th centuries,
15:36many household technological advancements
15:38were treated with a great deal of skepticism,
15:40at least by the upper classes.
15:42I couldn't have electricity in the house.
15:44I wouldn't sleep a wink.
15:46All those vapors seeping about.
15:48Even Cora won't have it in the bedroom.
15:49Electric lights were seen as gaudy,
15:51telephones were impersonal and confusing,
15:54and mechanical equipment excessive noise.
15:56Even cars when they first showed up on the scene
15:58were thought to be ridiculous.
16:00However, lower classes tended to like new technology
16:03as it made their lives easier.
16:05And for that reason,
16:06upper classes considered the advances crass.
16:08That people should waste hours
16:10huddled around a wooden box
16:11listening to someone talking at them,
16:13burbling inanities from somewhere else.
16:14But surely now with the latest news and everything,
16:17and it must be a boon for the old.
16:18What do you think, Bates?
16:19Old habits die hard,
16:21especially when attached to the lifestyles of old money.
16:24Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an H.G. Wells novel.
16:28Number 7. Fashion
16:30The fastest way to immerse an audience in a historical drama
16:34is with accurate costume and set pieces.
16:36And the costume designers did a great job.
16:39Spanning from 1912 to 1925,
16:42the women's clothing especially had to be spot on.
16:45Oh, it's very chic.
16:47Can we see it with the hat?
16:49Be it subtle,
16:50as with changing hem and bust lines,
16:53or dramatic,
16:54like when Sybil wore harem pants,
16:56female fashion tends to change rapidly
16:57based on social attitudes and desires.
17:00However,
17:01while the threads were for the most part top-notch,
17:03it's been noted by some that everyone,
17:05servants especially would have been dirtier,
17:08even in a manor house.
17:10You weren't here and I didn't like to touch the curtains
17:11for my dirty hands.
17:13Despite that,
17:13they did maintain accuracy by not washing the costumes,
17:17according to Sophie McShira,
17:18who played Daisy.
17:20Number 6.
17:21Royal Scandals
17:22Don't you see whom he's with?
17:24The Prince of Wales.
17:26Be honest,
17:27everyone loves a good scandal.
17:29Royal scandals were the celebrity gossip of the time,
17:32and seeing as some of the upper classes
17:34might know some of the royals involved,
17:36it was even more salacious.
17:38Do you remember that letter we were laughing about the other night?
17:40Yes.
17:42Well,
17:43the thing is,
17:44when I got home,
17:45it was missing.
17:46In series 4,
17:47a letter from the Prince of Wales,
17:49the future,
17:49very temporary,
17:50King of England,
17:51to his lover and mistress,
17:52Mrs. Frieda Ward,
17:53is stolen,
17:54and fears of a scandal are ignited.
17:56Do you want the heir to the throne
17:58to be lampooned across the world,
17:59with a story that will never sleep,
18:01even when he's safely crowned
18:02and married to a foreign princess?
18:04King Edward VIII would abdicate the throne in 1936
18:07for a different socialite,
18:08Wallace Simpson,
18:09but the earlier scandal
18:10that he'd been having an affair
18:11with the married Mrs. Ward
18:12was well known by the higher class,
18:15and there were in fact letters between the two.
18:17Yes,
18:18the Prince is never short of popularity.
18:21Number 5.
18:22Downstairs Romances
18:23Downton Abbey focused not just on the aristocrats,
18:26but of the lives of the servants as well,
18:28which naturally included their romantic lives.
18:32It's not impossible to fathom that servants,
18:34both on the show and in real life,
18:36would potentially spend a lot of time together
18:38and maybe sleep together.
18:40And yes,
18:40it did happen,
18:41but not everyone was as liberal as the Crawleys.
18:44A liaison between staff members of a great house
18:46was grounds for firing most of the time.
18:49It therefore gives me great pleasure
18:50to say you are now husband and wife together.
18:54Number 4.
19:03Class Struggles
19:04What a harsh world you live in.
19:06We all live in a harsh world,
19:08but at least I know I do.
19:10The truth is that the early 20th century
19:12was a bad time to be anything but rich.
19:15The divide between the upper and lower class was stark,
19:18and for lower classes,
19:19there was virtually no way up.
19:20Before unions,
19:22people toiled for long hours,
19:24and were frequently exploited.
19:26All around the world,
19:27resentment was stirring in the working class
19:28for the upper classes
19:29who had it better simply by being born.
19:32We see this in several episodes,
19:34especially post-World War I.
19:36It seems marvelous to me.
19:37You leave service,
19:38go into government.
19:39Now you're married to a prominent man.
19:4120th century story.
19:43The rise of socialism at this time
19:45grew out of a desire
19:46for a more balanced and just society.
19:48And it's no surprise some of the servants
19:50began to have real ambitions.
19:52I'm a socialist,
19:53not a revolutionary.
19:55And I won't always be a chauffeur.
19:57Number 3.
19:58Women's rights.
19:59And from what her ladyship said,
20:00it sounded as if you support women's rights.
20:03I suppose I do.
20:04Women's rights are still debated today,
20:06but in the era of Downton,
20:08women couldn't vote
20:09or have any true life outside of marriage.
20:11I was only going to say
20:12that Sybil is entitled to her opinions.
20:15No.
20:16She isn't,
20:16if she is married,
20:17then her husband will tell her
20:19what her opinions are.
20:21In the Commonwealth,
20:22example Canada,
20:23women weren't even recognized
20:24as persons under the law until 1929.
20:28The birth control movement
20:29only began in the 19th and 20th centuries,
20:31and several women on Downton Abbey
20:33depict the stigma associated with it.
20:35Whether it's Lady Edith
20:36having an illegitimate daughter
20:38and figuring out how to hide her,
20:40or Lady Mary sending her maid Anna
20:41to get contraceptives
20:43after reading a book
20:44by Mari Stopes on the subject.
20:45One of these.
20:49I can see you're married.
20:51I am married, yes.
20:52But you don't wish for any more children?
20:54That's it.
20:55That's right.
20:56Downton was careful
20:57with its depiction of female characters,
20:59giving them relatable problems,
21:01but grounding them in history.
21:02That can be the first step
21:03of the journey
21:04to women's equality.
21:07If you're so keen on women's rights,
21:09let a woman speak.
21:10All right, stop there.
21:11Number two.
21:12British marrying rich Americans.
21:1524 years ago,
21:16you married Cora
21:17against my wishes for her money.
21:20Give it away now.
21:22What was the point
21:22of your peculiar marriage
21:23in the first place?
21:25If I were to tell you
21:26she'd made me very happy,
21:27would that stretch belief?
21:28In the Gilded Age,
21:29marrying for money
21:30had become a regular practice
21:32in aristocratic households.
21:34Lord Grantham married
21:35his American wife,
21:36Cora Levinson,
21:36because she was a rich heiress.
21:38This became very common,
21:40as many of the titled lords
21:41really had no money
21:42from years of frivolous
21:43family spending,
21:44selling off land,
21:45and just generally
21:46the diminishing power of Europe.
21:48In America,
21:49manufacturers and industrialists
21:51were making fortunes.
21:53Of course,
21:53not everyone was happy
21:54about unions
21:55between the British and Americans.
21:56It seems so strange
21:58to think of the English
21:59embracing change.
21:59Those who came
22:01from old money,
22:02like the Dowager Countess,
22:03found it low class.
22:05And the women
22:05who married in
22:06were surprised
22:07to find their new homes
22:08lacking the modern conveniences
22:09they enjoyed like heat.
22:11You Americans
22:11never understand
22:13the importance
22:14of tradition.
22:16Yes, we do.
22:17We just don't give it
22:18power over us.
22:19Before we continue,
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22:35Number one,
22:36The Entail.
22:37The Entail
22:37must be smashed
22:39in its entirety
22:41and Mary recognized
22:43as heiress of all.
22:46There's nothing
22:46we can do
22:46about the title.
22:47Ah, The Entail,
22:48the discriminative law
22:50that served as the catalyst
22:51for the entire show.
22:52Still, let's see
22:53why I couldn't just refuse it.
22:55There's no mechanism
22:56for you to do so.
22:57You will be an earl.
22:58You will inherit the estate.
23:00Good thing that such
23:00sad, unfair legislations
23:02are a thing of the
23:03wait, what?
23:03It still exists?
23:05Oh.
23:06On Downton,
23:07Robert, the Earl of Grantham,
23:09has only daughters
23:10and therefore,
23:11because of their gender,
23:12they're excluded
23:13from inheriting the earldom
23:14as well as Downton itself.
23:16This particularly affects
23:17his eldest daughter,
23:18Lady Mary.
23:19I thought Lady Mary was here.
23:20She's a girl, stupid.
23:22Girls can't inherit.
23:23While the entail,
23:24or fetail,
23:25was technically abolished
23:26in 1925,
23:28it still continues
23:28in a certain capacity.
23:30In 2013, however,
23:32the British Parliament
23:33tried to pass
23:33the Equality Titles Bill,
23:35also known as
23:36Downton Abbey Law,
23:37yes, really,
23:38to end the gender discrimination
23:39and allow equal succession.
23:41The bill did not pass.
23:43I don't believe
23:44a woman can be forced
23:45to give away all her money
23:46to a distant cousin
23:46of her husband's.
23:48Not in the 20th century.
23:49It's too ludicrous
23:50for words.
23:50Which historical detail
23:52in Downton Abbey
23:52amazed you the most?
23:54Let us know
23:54in the comments.
23:56Is it true
23:56what they're saying?
23:57I believe so, my lord.
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