- Jane: "Will you be happy? Really?"
- Robert: "I have no right to be unhappy, which is almost the same."
- Jane: "Almost. Not quite."
- — Jane saying goodbye to Robert.[src]
Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham[1] is the patriarch of Downton Abbey, the son of the late 6th Earl of Grantham and Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, the brother of Lady Rosamund Painswick nee Crawley, the husband of Cora Crawley née Levinson, Countess of Grantham, the son-in-law of the late Isidore and Martha Levinson, the brother-in-law of the late Marmaduke Painswick, the father of Lady Mary Crawley, Lady Edith Crawley, and the late Lady Sybil Branson née Crawley, father-in-law of Tom Branson and the late Matthew Crawley, and grandfather of Miss Sybil Branson and Mary and Matthew's son.
Biography
Robert was born in Downton Abbey. His father was the 6th Earl of Grantham and Violet, Dowager Countess, is his mother. Robert's sister Rosamund was born a year later. Although the parents loved their children very much, the Earl had very little money for an aristocrat. Robert's education was very privileged and he was educated by a tutor from 7-13 and when he reached 13 he attended Eton College and then at 18 he attended Christ College, Oxford and read Philosophy. Robert was raised by his father so that Robert could take care of the estate after his father's death. Because of their poor financial situation, and to ensure the survival of the estate, his father knew that Robert, as the future Earl, would have to marry a wealthy heiress who would bring a large dowry to the estate. In 1889 Robert married an American heiress, Cora Levinson. Cora is the daughter of Isidore and Martha Levinson, and came across to England with Martha in 1888 when she was 20 years old. Isidore was an American millionaire, and when Cora married Robert, Robert's father forced her to sign a legal entailment which legally combined the estate with Cora's fortune. Robert was forced into the marriage by his father, and Cora was forced into the marriage by her father. Patrick wanted Robert to marry a rich girl; Isidore wanted Cora to marry into the English aristocracy. In 1912 Robert admitted to his mother that he was ashamed of his motives for pursuing Cora. After about a year of marriage Robert did fall in love with Cora. They had 3 daughters: Mary, Edith, and Sybil. As they had no sons, Robert's heir was his cousin James. However, when James and his only son Patrick died in the sinking of the Titanic, his heir became his third cousin once removed, Matthew Crawley, a young middle-class solicitor from Manchester. The Earl served in the Second Boer War from 1899–1902 where John Bates, later to be his valet, was his batman. He is immensely proud of Downton as the place he grew up and takes his responsibility for the estate very seriously. In 1912, he said to his mother that he considers Downton's nurturing of him, and his nurture of the estate, to be like having a third parent and a fourth child. There are references in the series to Robert sitting as a Conservative member of the House of Lords, although this is not shown.
Series 3
In episode 3.05, Robert and Sir Philip ignored Dr. Clarkson advice that Sybil was showing signs of having eclampsia, which risked Sybil's life. They disagreed because they believed it would be safer if Sybil and her baby were at Downton not at a public hospital, which deeply concerned Tom, Cora and rest of the family. Sybil died from eclampsia after giving birth to a daughter. At first Cora blamed Robert for Sybil's death.
His son-in-law Tom Branson believed that his daughter, also named Sybil, should be baptized Catholic like her father, but Robert disagreed with him, who believed that his granddaughter should be baptized a part of the Church of England. He thought the idea of Tom naming his daughter after her mother was "ghoulish" and he said the only way she could move up in life was through her mother's blood, indicating he was still upset over his daughter marrying Tom. Mary, and possibly the rest of the family, supported Tom over baby Sybil's christening. Robert relented after Mary revealed Sybil told her before she died she would be happy for her child to be Catholic.
Robert did seem to respect Tom more after Tom spoke to him about them all pulling together to take Downton into the future, saying he was "eloquent" and a good spokesperson for Matthew's vision for Downton, over which Robert and Matthew had argued. He insisted Tom help out with the cricket team, even though Tom never played before.
Personality
Although he loves his daughters very much, Robert has always longed for a son, and he almost had one until Cora's shock fourth pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. For a short time, he became infatuated with a housemaid, Jane Moorsum (whose husband had been killed in World War I), kissing her twice, and they seemed on the verge of an affair, but after a timely interruption by an oblivious Mr. Bates, Robert realised what he was doing. He and Jane amicably agreed not to have an affair. To avoid further incidents, Jane decided to leave Downton. Out of kindness, Robert pulled some strings so that Jane's highly intelligent son Freddie could go to Ripon Grammar School, and he gave Jane the name and address of his man of business, to give Freddie a start in life.
Robert does not shun progress as he allows telephones and electricity to be installed at Downton and, after initial dismay and anger, gives his blessing to his daughter Sybil's marriage to family chauffeur Tom Branson. In Tom's own words, Robert is a good man and a decent employer. He is compassionate, friendly, intelligent, honourable and reasonable. When the middle class Matthew and Isobel arrive at Downton, the family are initially wary of them and reluctant to welcome them into the family, simply because they are middle class and not aristocrats. Robert is the only one who does welcome them regardless of their class, and he becomes good friends with Isobel and a surrogate father to Matthew. He is very enthusiastic about the idea of Mary marrying Matthew, and can't understand when they fall out with each other at the end of series one. He dislikes Sir Richard Carlisle because of his rude and selfish behaviour, and is pleased when Mary decides to end her engagement with him. Robert also forgives Mary when he learns of her indiscretion with Kemal Pamuk, telling her that she is "not the only Crawley to have made a mistake". He is very protective of his family and servants, and in many cases treats the servants almost like family members. He is loyal, going to great lengths to retain the slightly disabled John Bates as his valet. He is respectful to Mr. Lang, who serves as his valet during WWI, although he is suffering from shellshock. When William Mason, a footman, is given a white feather of cowardice by some women from the village during WWI, Robert angrily throws them out of his house. When William is called up to fight, Robert does his best to keep him out of danger by getting him appointed as Matthew's batman. He also pays for Mrs. Patmore's eye surgery when she starts to go blind. When Thomas, then his valet, is caught kissing Jimmy, the new footman, and is subsequently pressured to leave Downton, Robert asserts his authority over the staff politics and promotes him to underbutler. In addition, after footman Alfred reports Thomas's "indecent assault" to the police and they come round to investigate, Robert convinces Alfred to recant his story, thus protecting Thomas from an almost certain prison sentence and public disgrace.
Relationships
Robert Crawley is deeply in love, and close, with his American wife Cora Crawley. He is also close with his mother, Violet Crawley and his sister, Lady Rosamund. Robert loves his three daughters deeply and only wants what is best for them. In late 1918 and early 1919 he had a brief affair with Downton Abbey housemaid Jane Moorsum.
Quotes
"Carson, we all have chapters we would prefer to keep unpublished," - to Carson.
"I have given my life to Downton, I was born here and I hope to die here. It is my third parent and fourth child. Do I care about it? Yes, I do care!" - to Violet.
"If I cried blue murder every time someone tried to kiss me at Eton, I would have been hoarse in a month," - to Bates.
References
- ↑ The book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey confirms that Robert is the 7th Earl of Grantham. "7th earl" search of The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era By Jessica Fellowes, Matthew Sturgis; Julian Fellowes (Foreword)