Duchess Kate Middleton Brings Real-Life Royalty to 'Downton Abbey' Set
— -- Behold, fans of "Downton Abbey": This morning a real-life royal visited the show’s set and got an exclusive sneak peek at season six of the blockbuster TV series.
Duchess Kate, 33, paid a visit to Ealing Studios in London, where the show about the Crawley family is filmed.
Kate, eight months pregnant with her second child, dazzled in a cream coat as she met with the show’s “upstairs” cast of lords and ladies. She even ventured downstairs to hang out with the help.
Two of the show's characters, Mrs. Patmore and Daisy, baked a chocolate cake to commemorate Kate's visit.
The duchess was greeted today by the child actor who plays the character George on the show, and who gave Kate a toy train as a gift for her son, 1-year-old Prince George.
Kate went on to watch the cast’s hair and makeup sessions and met with the show's costume designers.
She also got to watch the cast film a scene from their upcoming sixth season. Season five of “Downton Abbey” premiered in January in the U.S. on PBS.
Kate’s high-profile visit is not the first time a member of Britain’s royal family has hobnobbed with the “Downton Abbey” cast. In October, Queen Elizabeth honored Dame Maggie Smith, who plays Lady Violet, dowager countess of Grantham.
In another meeting, Kate’s husband, Prince William, made the cast giggle.
“We were all giggling,” Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith Crawley, said of the cast’s meeting with William. “What do you do and what shall we say but he was so kind and calm.”
“He’s very sweet about our show and we were very excited,” Carmichael said of William.
