'Downton Abbey' Characters: Lady Edith Quiz

Answer: She revealed all in a letter to the Turkish ambassador

During the first series of 'Downton Abbey' Lady Edith was portrayed as the jealous, petty and somewhat overlooked middle sister. Edith's relationship with Mary was particularly hostile as Mary tended to take every opportunity to put down her sister and scupper her attempts at romance. When Edith discovered that Kemal Pamuk had actually died in Mary's bed, she took the opportunity to exact revenge by revealing the whole story in a letter to the Turkish ambassador. Needless to say, the subsequent risk to Mary's reputation proved to be yet another cause of argument between the sisters.

This storyline was set during the negotiations following Albanian independence from the Ottoman Empire, which were held in London during 1912 and 1913. These talks were aimed at sorting out territorial boundaries following the First Balkan War and resulted in the signing of the Treaty of London in May 1913. However, they weren't terribly successful as the Second Balkan War broke out just one month later...

Answer: His wife saw them kissing

When the First World War broke out in Europe in July 1914, the Earl announced the news at Downton during a charity garden party. The war affected the lives of everyone in the household (both 'upstairs' and 'downstairs') and the wider estate: Matthew Crawley, Thomas Barrow, William Mason and many of the estate's workers all joined the army, Lady Sybil trained as a nurse and Downton Abbey itself was turned into a convalescent home.

Lady Edith decided to contribute to the war effort by getting the family's chauffeur to teach her how to drive and volunteering to drive a tractor for John Drake, one of the estate's farmers. Despite the vast difference in their social standing, Edith and John got on well together and ended up sharing a kiss. Unfortunately John Drake was married with a young family and his wife witnessed his kiss with Edith - the letter informing Edith that her help on the farm was no longer required turned up shortly afterwards.

Answer: He claimed to be Patrick Crawley - who was believed dead in the Titanic disaster

During Downton Abbey's stint as a convalescent home for injured First World War officers, one particular patient created a stir by claiming to be Patrick Crawley - the son of the heir to Downton who had been lost in the Titanic disaster. His tale of surviving the shipwreck only to end up suffering from amnesia in Canada didn't impress most of the family and Lady Edith was the only one who believed him.

Edith's display of trust in 'Patrick' was probably due to the fact that she had been in love with the future earl, despite his long-standing engagement to her sister, Lady Mary. Although they grew close and 'Patrick' claimed that he had been in love with her all along, he ended up abandoning her when the Earl's investigations into his claims turned up evidence that suggested that he was an imposter.

Answer: Sir Anthony Strallan

Prior to the First World War, Lady Edith had been developing a relationship with a much older man, Sir Anthony Strallan. When he returned from the war with life-changing injuries, Edith rekindled their relationship despite his misgivings about tying her down and her family's objections to the match. Eventually he proposed marriage and she accepted, but her wedding day swiftly became one of the most painful days of her life when she stood at the altar with him only to discover that he was unwilling to go through with actually marrying her. Poor old Edith was left with yet another romantic failure behind her and the belief that she was destined for spinsterhood.

Sir Richard Carlisle and the Hon. Evelyn Napier were two of Lady Mary's suitors, while Lord Merton married Isobel Crawley during the timeframe covered by the show's final episode.

Answer: Michael Gregson

Lady Edith met Michael Gregson when she travelled to London to discuss taking on the role of a regular columnist for his magazine, 'The Sketch'. It soon became clear that he and Edith had fallen in love, but (as always seemed to be the case for poor Edith) there was a serious impediment to them getting married and living happily ever after - he was already married and was unable to obtain a divorce due to his wife's mental illness. However, he had a cunning plan to move to Germany and become a German citizen as that country's laws would have allowed his divorce. Unfortunately as soon as he arrived in Germany he disappeared without a trace. It was later discovered that he had been killed during the events of Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923 (a slight historical error on the part of the creators of 'Downton Abbey' as Gregson had gone missing in 1922).

Obviously, the heartbreak over losing her lover was not considered enough bad luck for Lady Edith. Shortly after Gregson's disappearance she discovered that she was pregnant - at a time when having an illegitimate child meant significant scandal and stigma.

The incorrect options were all footmen at Downton Abbey at various points during the show's six series.

Answer: That they wanted to improve their French

After initially seeking to have an illegal abortion, Lady Edith realised she could not go through with it and instead planned to have her child adopted by a local tenant farmer. However, Lady Rosamund convinced her that her plan was too risky and that the best thing for both Edith and the child would be if she gave birth in secret and gave it up for adoption. Edith reluctantly agreed and Rosamund concocted the excuse that the two women had suddenly developed a deep desire to improve their knowledge of the French language and were going to take an extended trip to Switzerland.

Surprisingly, most of the family believed the excuse. However, Lady Mary believed it was a cover story to allow Edith to conduct a search for Michael Gregson and the Dowager Countess swiftly identified the true reason behind the trip.

Answer: Barrow

The opening episode of the fifth series of 'Downton Abbey', set in 1924, revealed that Lady Edith had retrieved her illegitimate child, a daughter, from Switzerland and implemented her original plan of having her adopted by a local farmer and his wife. However, although she could see her regularly she was unable to cope with seeing the child with her new family and being unable to acknowledge their relationship. Matters came to a head when she unexpectedly came across a book belonging to her lost lover, Michael Gregson. In a depressed state, she threw the book too close to her bedroom fireplace and a fire started in the room while she slept.

Luckily, the generally disliked underbutler Thomas Barrow was on duty in the corridor outside her room, smelled the smoke and was able to both raise the alarm and rescue Edith from an unpleasant death. His brave actions also served to improve people's opinions of him - at least temporarily!

Answer: Marigold

Lady Edith's illegitimate daughter, Marigold, lived with a local farmer and his wife for the majority of the fifth series. Although the farmer, Tim Drewe, was aware that Edith was Marigold's mother, his wife was kept in the dark. As a result she soon became less than impressed by Edith's increasingly frequent visits to the farm to see Marigold. Drewe's plan to explain away Edith's interest by making her Marigold's official benefactress didn't help and eventually Mrs Drewe refused to allow Edith to visit.

This proved to be the last straw for Edith and she revealed her connection to Marigold to Mrs Drewe and took the little girl to live in London. However, her mother Lady Cora discovered her grand-daughter's existence, tracked Edith down in London and proposed that she adopt Marigold and return with her to Downton Abbey. Edith agreed - but only on the condition that her father and sister, Lady Mary, were not let in on the secret.

Answer: Marchioness of Hexham

As viewers of 'Downton Abbey' would have likely expected after six years of witnessing Lady Edith's unlucky and tragic love life, her (second) path to the altar was distinctly unsmooth. Lady Mary spitefully informed Bertie about Edith's secret illegitimate daughter, Marigold, and Bertie - deeply hurt by Edith's lack of trust - broke off their engagement. They reconciled, but his mother's disapproval nearly led Edith to leave Bertie for the sake of his family's reputation. However, the previously over-looked and under-appreciated Crawley sister eventually got her happy ending in the 2015 Christmas special episode when she became Bertie's much-loved wife on New Year's Eve 1925. The fact that he had recently inherited the title of Marquess of Hexham - making Edith a marchioness - was just added icing on the wedding cake.

Viscount Gillingham was a serious suitor of Lady Mary Crawley who was a main character in series five; the Duke of Crowborough appeared in series one as a former lover of the footman Thomas Barrow; and Baron Aysgarth was a widower who thought Lady Cora's mother might be the answer to his search for a rich wife in the 2013 Christmas special episode.

Answer: Laura Carmichael

Laura Carmichael portrayed Lady Edith Crawley throughout the six series of 'Downton Abbey', bringing to life the development of the character from an irritating, resentful and bitter 20-year-old in the first series to a reflective, caring and happy 33-year-old by the end of series six. Prior to 'Downton Abbey' Carmichael was relatively unknown, but since the series first aired she has appeared in films such as 2011's 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' and 2014's 'Madame Bovary' as well as making her debut on stage in London's West End.

Daisy Lewis played the village schoolteacher, Sarah Bunting; Janet Montgomery played Freda Dudley Ward, the mistress of the Prince of Wales; and Catherine Steadman played Mabel Lane Fox, the fiancée of Viscount Gillingham.