The real princess of Downton Abbey: Princess Mary will be character in new period drama movie that is set to make a star of her home Harewood House
- Princess Mary’s mansion in West Yorkshire will be in the Downton Abbey film
- The Harewood House Trust hope the movie will bring about a ‘Downton effect’
- They anticipate a wave of new visitors after the movie debuts next month
- Princess Mary was King George V’s daughter and is an aunt of Queen Elizabeth II
Princess Mary, daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, the paternal aunt of Queen Elizabeth II
Princess Mary will be a character in the new Downton Abbey movie that will make a star of her home Harewood House.
The princess, daughter of George V and Queen Mary, will be played by Kate Phillips in the feature-length adaptation written by the TV show’s creator Julian Fellowes.
Phillips, who starred in War and Peace, The Crown and as Jane Seymour in Wolf Hall, will play Princess Mary as she moves to the West Yorkshire mansion to marry the 6th Earl and be visited by her parents for a lavish ball.
Curators hope the new movie will bring on a ‘Downton effect,’ The Telegraph reported, which should bring many thousands to Harewood House.
The news comes as Princess Mary’s personal archive was revealed for the first time, including correspondence, diaries, clothing and personal effects, all handed to the National Trust.

Kate Phillips (left) who plays Princess Mary, Simon Jones, who plays King George V and Geraldine James, who plays Queen Mary, in the Downton Abbey movie released next month

Harewood House was the residence of Princess Mary after her marriage to Viscount Lascelles, the 6th Earl of Harewood in 1922
Staff at Harewood hope the film, set in 1927, will renew Britain’s interest in Princess Mary, the paternal aunt of the Queen Elizabeth II.
Although she is the daughter and sister of monarchs, the avid jewellery collector has largely been neglected in the national memory.
Harewood House, a Grade I listed building, had originally been considered as the venue for Downton Abbey before Highclere Castle in Hampshire was chosen.
The 8th Earl told The Telegraph in a previous interview he had been nervous about opening up his home: ‘You can’t just let the prop guys move a piece of Chippendale furniture. You’ve got to have specialised people in and plan ahead.’
The filming of the movie required all 30 of the chiming clocks in the house to be stopped so as not interfere with microphones and curators helped to move antique furniture and priceless artworks.
Jane Marriott, director of the Harewood House Trust, told The Telegraph: ‘It’s a fine balancing act to make sure you create the most wonderful spaces to recreate these films but protect the assets that the public own.’
The house was recently used for ITV’s Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes, which has brought a wave of tourists.
Curators say they will be using the movie, which blends historical fact and fiction, to determine how best to showcase Princess Mary’s collection to new visitors.
The princess’s fascinating archive includes letters from George V and Queen Mary calling her ‘darling little butterfly’ and speaking about how sorely they miss her.
Harewood House say those who turn up to the stately home in period costume during the week of the film’s release on September 13 will be permitted free entry.