Downton Abbey’s Queen Mary wears clothing that belonged to the real royal

The dress actress Geraldine James wears in a pivotal Downton Abbey scene actually belonged to the real Queen Mary.
The film’s costume designer, Anna Robbins, reveals she found a piece of silver lame the royal wore to a function in the 1920s and decided to incorporate it into the costume.
”The Queen… is an amalgamation of vintage fabrics – her skirt contains a piece of silver lame that belonged to the real Queen Mary, which is mind-blowing,” Robbins tells The Daily Telegraph, revealing there are lots of 1920s items added to the garments: “Anything that was new needed to sit next to things that were old and look cohesive,” she explains.
Anna admits it was a challenge dressing the cast for the period movie, set in 1927 as Queen Mary and King George V visit Downton Abbey, because the actresses in particularly looked nothing like the ladies of a century ago.
“Our actors are all very leggy compared to the people of the 1920s,” she says.
But Robbins loved working with star Laura Carmichael, adding, “She wears originals so well, they fit her frame like a glove.”