Downton Abbey: Every Scandal In The Dowager Countess’ Past

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Warning: SPOILERS for Downton Abbey: A New Era

Lady Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) revealed another part of her «scandalous past» in Downton Abbey: A New Era, and the Dowager Countess has actually had a remarkable life dotted with scandals she survived. Of course, Lady Violet passed away at the end of A New Era after being diagnosed with a terminal illness in the 2019Downton Abbey film. The grand old dame of Downton Abbey is fondly remembered and beloved by her family and servants, who learned Lady Violet had her share of secrets she hid behind her prickly and fearsome demeanor.

When Downton Abbey began in April 1912, Lady Violet was already the elderly Dowager Countess as her son, Robert Crawley, the 6th Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) was in charge of Downton Abbey. Lady Violet was proudly «an Edwardian» who embodied the previous era, and the Dowager Countess was not fond of the many sweeping changes at Downton, from the installation of a telephone to the choices her granddaughters made for who they married. Violet's foil was Isobel Crawley, later Lady Isobel Merton (Penelope Wilton), who was the mother of Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), the one-time heir to Downton and late husband of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery). Isobel was more progressive-minded than Violet and their witty arguments were always a highlight of Downton Abbey.

Related: Downton Abbey: A New Era Ending Explained (In Detail)

Thanks to Maggie Smith delivering the endless bon mots and scathingly funny dialogue penned by Downton Abbey's creator Julian Fellowes, Lady Violet was arguably the most popular Downton Abbey character, and her presence in the continuing movie franchise will be sorely missed. The Dowager Countess was so prim and proper but bit by