Downton Abbey’s servants will be practicing their curtsies in readiness for a royal visit next week.
Ealing Studios, which houses the set of the Servants Hall at fictional Downton Abbey, and the actors of the award-winning drama will be welcoming the Duchess of Cambridge on Thursday (March 12).
The Duchess will be introduced to Lord Fellowes, the creator and writer of the show, as well as representatives of Carnival Films and Television, ITV, NBC and Ealing Studios.
Kate Middleton is then set to meet members of the cast, including Dame Maggie Smith (The Dowager Countess of Grantham), Phyllis Logan (Mrs Hughes), Rob James-Collier (Thomas), Lesley Nicol (Mrs Patmore) and Sophie McShera (Daisy).
She will also have a chance to talk to Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, who play Lord and Lady Grantham, Robert and Cora Crawley.
Ealing Studios is one of the oldest continuously working studio facilities in the world, with films having been produced there since 1902.
The studio, well-known for classic films produced in the post-war era and some, more recently, include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Ladykillers (1955), The Importance of being Earnest (2002) and Shaun of the Dead (2004).
The studio was owned by the BBC for 40 years from 1955 to 1995. It is currently also home to the Met Film School London.
The studios are around 60 miles from the real Downton Abbey: Highclere Castle, in Hampshire. Most of the ‘downstairs’ scenes, such as the kitchen and the servants’ quarters, are filmed at the studio while the ‘upstairs’ scenes are filmed inside Highclere.
The Duchess, who is eight-months pregnant with her second child, will tour the studio with the show’s executive producer Liz Trubridge. She will view the different areas of the production process, from make-up and costume design to the production of set scenery and props. A scene set in the servants’ quarters is scheduled to film while The Duchess is on the set, as well as one in the ‘Video Village’ area.
Before leaving, Kate will attend a brief reception to meet production, editorial, and Ealing Studios staff.
She will then join the cast members for an official photograph in the Servants Hall and unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark her visit.
Both the Duke - Prince William - and Duchess of Cambridge are said to be avid fans of Downton Abbey and have admitted to watching it every Sunday evening.
The final episode of season five aired on Christmas Day in the UK, and production has begun for a sixth season of the show.
The Countess of Wessex, accompanied by the Mexican First Lady Angelica Rivera, this Wednesday (March 4) visited Highclere Castle and met with the main cast of Downton Abbey.
