Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey (Carnarvon) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—1963
• Raised—Greater London, England, UK
• Education—University of St Andrews
• Currently—lives in Highclere Castle, Berkshire, England

Fiona Carnarvon is the eldest of six daughters born to Ronnie Aitken and Francis Farmer. Her father worked in London in banking and rescuing companies. His father had been a general in the army and came from a family of generals and landowners. "But the family lost everything, so my father went to work in the city,” says Lady Carnarvon.

Fiona studied English and German at the University of St Andrews before becoming a senior auditor at Coopers & Lybrand. In 1995 she established her own fashion label, Azur, which operated until 2004.

In 1996 she met her husband, George Herbert, at a charity dinner. The two shared a love of World War I poetry, and three years later they married. After his father died in 2001, "Geordie" became the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, and Fiona became the Countess of Carnarvon. The couple took over the tenureship of Highclere Castle, Berkshire, where they continue to live with their son, Edward.

The castle has provided the inspiration and setting for the television series Downton Abbey and, following the show’s popularity, Lady Carnarvon has written Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle (2011), a book about the history of the castle during the First World War and her husband’s great-grandmother. (Adapted from The Telegraph, 12/22/2011.)

See the article in the Weekly Review.