Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Celebrity News

    Downton Abbey Heads To Buckingham Palace For Its Christmas Day Special

    The Downton Abbey series 4 Christmas special is upon us... and it's about to go royal (spoilers!)

    By Rebecca Martin
    Published 4 December 2013 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    The Downton Abbey cast film scenes in Buckingham Palace
    The Downton Abbey cast film scenes in Buckingham Palace
    (Image credit: ITV)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    The Downton Abbey series 4 Christmas special is upon us... and it's about to go royal (spoilers!)

    Downton Abbey's Christmas special is set to be the most regal yet, as the very first pictures from the Christmas Day episode show the Crawley family heading to none other than Buckingham Palace.

    ITV announced today that it is taking our favourite aristocrats to the Queen's abode, where a new scandal threatens to rock the British monarchy. Ooh.

    What we do know, is the episode will focus on Lady Rose's 'coming out' ball, and will see Cora's brother and mother arrive from America. Robert will then be forced to protect his own family, and the royals, as an as yet unknown drama faces the Brits. Excited? Us too.

    The Downton Abbey cast film scenes in Buckingham Palace

    The Downton Abbey cast film scenes in Buckingham Palace
    (Image credit: ITV)

    The Christmas Day episode, which airs at 8.30pm on ITV, will welcome guest actor Paul Giamatti as Cora's American brother Harold, as well as James Fox as Lord Aysgarth, Guy Williams and King George V and Oliver Dimsale as the Prince of Wales.

    You may like
    • The best things to do this September The Agenda: The New-Season Cultural Reset
    • collage of October fashion collaborations From Rixo to Burberry and M&S Lingerie, These are the Fashion Collaborations We’re Excited About Right Now
    • Emilia Clarke Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”

    The events are set six months after the final episode of series four.

    The Downton Abbey cast film scenes in Buckingham Palace

    The Downton Abbey cast film scenes in Buckingham Palace
    (Image credit: ITV)

    Those hoping for a guest appearance from Queen Liz or a rogue corgi in shot will be disappointed, however, as the Buckingham Palace scenes were actually filmed in Lancaster House. West Wittering beach in Sussex meanwhile, has formed the set for the Crawleys' London residence, which we'll see for the very first time.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    We. Can't. Wait.

    Got a tablet? You can now download Marie Claire magazine straight to your iPad, Kindle (just search the store for 'marie claire magazine'), Nook or Google Nexus.

    Rebecca Martin
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    The best things to do this September
    Culture The Agenda: The New-Season Cultural Reset
    collage of October fashion collaborations
    Fashion From Rixo to Burberry and M&S Lingerie, These are the Fashion Collaborations We’re Excited About Right Now
     
     
    Emilia Clarke
    Culture Emilia Clarke: “That's my goal for the next decade of my life: to take it lightly. But it requires strength.”
    beauty advent calendar
    Beauty Summer’s Barely Over—But Beauty Advent Calendar Season Has Officially Begun
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Launches: Amouage, Haus Labs, XERF
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Is XERF Worth the Hype? Plus, Amouage’s New Body Collection & The Beauty Beat Returns
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
     
     
    Vogue World Robots
    Fashion AI Is Shaping the Future of Fashion—Can Creative Thought Survive?
    New Beauty Launches Romilly Wilde / Cécred / Bobbi Brown
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Cécred Comes to the UK, Romilly Wilde Returns & £22 Skincare Gets Serious
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.