'We are combining football and music, which united both sides in the war'

I have just one precious hour with Lady Fiona Carnarvon until she is whisked away to London, via the hairdresser’s, to meet the Belgian ambassador and discuss Sunday’s Heroes at Highclere day. She then returns to Oxford to open the Discovering Tutankhamun exhibition at the Ashmolean, of which her ancestors were such an integral part, with her beloved husband the 8th Earl.

All in a day’s work for Lady C, I’m sure, but fascinating to discover how the polite, chatty, turquoise-eyed countess manages her life and keeps all the balls up in the air.

We meet in the Highclere Castle Cafe having been led there through the private house by one of her assistants. Lady C manages to sneak in, unrecognised by the throngs of tourists crowding around the photographs on the walls of her ancestors, unaware that the real star is sitting right in front of them. Instead they focus on its newer inhabitants, the cast of Downton Abbey, as vital a part of Highclere now as Tutankhamun and its discovery by the 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter in 1922.

Indeed, until Julian Fellowes snatched up Highclere for ITV’s universally acclaimed series of Downton, it was The Egyptian Exhibition that kept the castle afloat. Now of course there are waiting lists until 2016 just to get in, Downton ensuring that Highclere will never be forgotten, securing its place on the global stage for ever.

So have the Ashmolean borrowed all the Highclere artefacts? “Oh, they don’t need our stuff. They’ve got more than enough of their own,” Lady C, as her staff call her, smiles. “For once it’s someone else’s problem,” she laughs.

To give you an idea of Lady C’s schedule, the Downton cast have just left, having been filming there since February, there have been several weddings on site, a film crew is set up in the grounds and the house is open to the public for six weeks. On top of all this, she is organising Heroes at Highclere, a WW1 commemoration and fundraising event which she hopes will raise thousands of pounds for charities.

Playing: Sadie & The Hotheads, fronted by Elizabeth McGovern, who stars as Cora, Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey

So where does Lady C find the time? “I don’t know,” she says quite calmly. “I was up until 1am last night, and we are all working at weekends to try to get it organised in time. It’s time- consuming, because we haven’t ever really done anything like this before, but I wanted to do something positive for the centenary, for something good to come out of all that tragedy and to help the continuing number of refugees, victims of war, and the veterans.

“So it will be a united day. I wanted to stand together in this world of disintegration, so we are combining music and football which brought both sides together in the war, and the Germans are flying over a whole football team with physios and everything.”

That team is Bayer 04 Leverkusen, no less, who will play the British All-Stars team in honour of those brave soldiers who stepped aside from the horrors of the First World War to call a truce and play together. “Thank God we are closing for five days to get it all set up and make sure everything is ready in time,” she continues, ordering a panino, apologising that she hasn’t had time to eat, as if I’d be surprised.

“But it’s wildly exciting at the same time and, though it’s not Wembley, it’ll be a remarkable day.” And afterwards? “Afterwards I think I’ll collapse. And I’m looking forward to spending a whole week with my son, who’s in Cornwall with my sister while all this is going on.”

The Downton connection at least must help with the fundraising though? “Well when I contacted the Belgian ambassador I didnt need to explain where Highclere was,” she says.

Ah yes: Downton. So, how much did the television period drama change Highclere’s fortunes? “We were always busy but had to market ourselves, now we don’t really need to,” says Lady C.

Lovely as it is, why is Downton shot at Highclere instead of, say, Blenheim? “We aren’t open all year and they need to close the grounds to the public when filming, plus Julian [Fellowes] knew the house and recognised all the rooms being based around a central atrium would be useful for filming. But Blenheim is magnificent isn’t it — it’s like our Versailles,” she says magnanimously.

Even so, living in the midst of a tourist attraction must be vexing at times? “We are Highclere’s keepers and here for our lifetime but I do feel we’ve now ensured Highclere as part of England’s heritage,” she says, firmly.

Booming: Lady Carnarvon in Highclere Castle Garden

‘We’, meaning she and her husband George, were a ‘love match’ as they would say on Downton, but presumably nothing could have prepared Fiona for her part in Highclere’s future when they met? “It’s lovely when you bump into someone you love isn’t it,” she says, fixing me with her beautiful turquoise eyes. “And I have enjoyed the writing [she’s written numerous books on her Carnarvon ancestors], and supporting Jordy with the house gives me a sense of achievement. It’s amazing what you can do when you try. I don’t stand still. So we take it in turns with the managers to go away. And when the Downton crew arrive, it’s like the beginning of term.”

All-consuming then? “It’s like any career. We’ve spent the last 10-15 years getting this all up and running so now is not the time to take our foot off the pedal, this is the harvesting time.”

Still, she must need time to recharge her batteries? “We like to sit down and have a plate of pasta in the evenings,” she says. “And at Christmas, we shut the gates and just hang out. We have lots of family and friends here of course but they all help and I do find time to sit and read or do a jigsaw and recover.

“And of course my husband is very involved. He’s more like a chairman with an overview, and we work back to back. But I always worry about Highclere, however well it’s doing. I trained as a chartered accountant so I’m more prudent than my husband; I bet £2 on a horse each way, while he puts on £20 to win.”

Taking care of Highclere’s future cannot be an easy mantle to pass on to her son? “Well, I have two stepchildren, and you can only do your best,” she says. “Everyone is different and what they do is up to them. I don’t have all the answers, all you can do is the best you can manage in your own lifetime,” she says wiping her mouth and rising from the table to shake my hand, her assistant waiting to take her on to her next appointment, her car waiting.

“But if you ask me what the house is actually about, it’s about stories and heritage, both locally and internationally,” she finishes, ”so while Downton Abbey and Discovering Tutankhamun give people pleasure, Heroes at Highclere will make a difference to people’s lives. It’s about bringing people together and about what we can do for other people.”

And then she’s gone, off to win over the Belgian ambassador no doubt with the same winning combination of determination, dedication and girlish charm that enchanted the 8th Earl nigh-on 15 years ago.

Heroes at Highclere
Sunday, 11am-7pm 
Kate Adie, Alexandra Burke, Sadie and The Hotheads and much more. 
For tickets, visit highclerecastle.co.uk