Downton Abbey star reveals Queen’s butlers secretly advised the cast on the Highclere Castle set

Downton Abbey’s Kevin Doyle said royal butlers advised the cast of the new film about how to behave around monarchs.

The star, 59, told how two butlers from Buckingham Palace were sent to the set in Highclere Castle, Hampshire, during filming.

Speaking to the Standard Online ahead of the film’s release, Doyle said: “They were great. Alistair Bruce, who is the historical adviser on this, he has the bible really in terms of etiquette and how people behaved.

“Throughout the TV show he was always there for us. Any questions we had he was always there to answer.”

He added: “But there were a couple of days which he was not available, so he sent a couple of his friends, who happened to be part of the Royal household. It was amazing.

“They were able to help us specifically with how a King and Queen are treated differently to normal members of the aristocracy. They were terribly helpful. ”

Unfortunately, the butlers failed to spill the beans on the Royal Household. 

“No, they were very careful and very discreet,” Doyle said. 

The Downton star was speaking ahead of the movie’s release on Friday.

The film – which is a continuation of the ITV hit series – shows the characters preparing for a royal visit from King George V and Queen Mary in 1927. Their visit throws the usual peace in the stately home into disarray.

Doyle, who plays waiter Joseph Molesley, said there was a “nervousness” among the cast when they first came together to film a “conspiratorial” scene in a wine cellar.

“There was a moment when I was worried that ‘is this how Molesley sounds?’ I just assumed it would all come swimming back and just as the cameras started rolling I thought, ‘Oh gosh, maybe I’m not fully prepared for this,’” he said. 

“I remember Jo Froggatt [who plays head housemaid Anna Bates] was saying she had the same worries as there had been a three-year gap.”

He added: “I think there was a sort of nervousness in the scene. I remember Michael Engler, the director, had to sort of gear us up a little bit, saying ‘Come on, you need to be more energetic than this.’ I think it was just because we were all a bit nervous.”