Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey

A lively follow-up to Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story of Catherine Wendell, the beautiful woman who married the 6th Earl of Carnarvon and presided over Highclere Castle. Catherine first met Lord Porchester (Porchey), the son of Lady Almina, in Gibraltar. At just nineteen and utterly entrancing, she had already received many proposals of marriage and immediately caught twenty-four-year-old Porchey's discerning eye. They married in 1922, and after the unexpected death of Almina's husband, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, they moved into Highclere Castle, the central character for the hit PBS show Downton Abbey. Beset by death duties and money problems, the Earl and Countess were unsure if they could afford to keep Highclere. Thanks to the sale of the decade at Christies Auction House, hundreds of cherished paintings went under the hammer, from a Leonardo da Vinci to works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Romney. Porchey even sold the famous family pearls. By 1926 Catherine and Porchey knew they could stay. Over the next few years, the young couple entertained at Highclere, sharing it with royalty and friends from London society. Catherine was much loved by the staff and adored by her husband and two young children. Although Almina still occasionally came to stay, Catherine’s own American mother, Mrs. Jacob Wendell, was the most regular visitor. By 1936, Catherine and Porchey’s marriage had become increasingly troubled. Devastated, Catherine bravely unravelled her marriage. Porchey hastily travelled to New York to marry his new lover, who, however, ran off the night before the wedding with a Hollywood mogul. Now in London with her children, Catherine fell in love with a handsome and charming man, whom she married in 1938. Porchey continued at Highclere, having to find new staff (the old staff accompanied Catherine to London) and marrying the famous Austrian actress Tilly Losch on the day war broke out in 1939. Catherine’s husband joined the navy while Porchey’s new wife quickly left for America. Highclere Castle and the Estate were turned into homes for evacuee children as well as lodging for soldiers. Porchey joined the war effort as an army adjutant (later a liaison officer) and was commended by the Americans stationed near Highclere. Catherine and Porchey’s son Henry also joined the war in 1943 and fought in Italy. Like other wives and mothers, Catherine endured the unbearable stress of waiting for news of two beloved people in her life. Using copious materials – including diaries and scrapbooks – from the castle's archive, the New York Times Bestselling author the Countess of Carnarvon brings alive a very modern story in a beautiful and famous setting, paying particular attention not just to the goings on upstairs, but also to the butler, footmen, and other staff whose lives downstairs kept the Castle moving forward into the twentieth century.