Lily James played Lady Rose inDownton Abbey, but her effervescent character hasn’t been seen sinceDownton’s season 6 Christmas Special and hasn’t appeared inDownton Abbeymovies. Created by Julian Fellowes,Downton Abbeybecame a global phenomenon that aired for 6 seasons and jumped to the big screen with three feature films, includingDownton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Premiering September 12, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is touted as the end of the Crawley family’s saga, which, for a time, included Lady Rose.
Introduced at the end ofDownton Abbeyseason 3, Lady Rose MacClaire, the cousin of Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and the great-niece of Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith), the Dowager Countess. When Rose’s parents, Hugh (Peter Egan) and Susan MacClare (Phoebe Nicholls), moved to India, Lady Rose was invited to stay at Downton Abbey.Rose injected some modernity and a bit of rebellion into the Crawley familywith her usual romances. Lady Rose was also presented at Buckingham Palace and danced with the Prince of Wales. WhenLady Rose leftDownton Abbey,however, her exit became permanent.
Lady Rose Married & Moved To America After Downton Abbey
Rose Became Lady Rose Aldridge
Lady Rose met and married Atticus Aldridge (Matt Barber) inDownton Abbeyseason 5, becoming Lady Rose Aldridge. Following their honeymoon in Venice,Rose and Atticus moved to New York, where Atticus got a job. Rose then gave birth to their daughter, Victoria Rachel Cora Aldridge. Atticus and Rose made their final appearance inDownton Abbeyseason 6’s Christmas special, titled “The Finale,” to celebrate the wedding of Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton).
Lady Rose and Atticus are still beloved members of the Crawley family, although they did not return for the 2019Downton Abbeyfeature film orDownton Abbey: A New Era. Rose and Atticus remained in their new home in America, and sadly, they missed the excitement of King George (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) staying at Downton and the feature film shot there during Downton Abbey: A New Era. BecauseLady Violet’s deathhappened offscreen inDownton Abbey: A New Era,it’s unknown if Rose, Atticus, and Victoria returned to England for Violet’s funeral.
Lady Rose Was A Controversial Downton Abbey Character
Replacing Lady Sybil Was A Tall Task For Lady Rose
Lily James joinedDownton Abbeyto, essentially, replace Jessica Brown-Findlay, who exited the series. Jessica’s beloved character,Lady Sybil, was killed off inDownton Abbeyseason 3after suffering from eclampsia, a complication of giving birth to her daughter, Sybbie.As Lady Rose, James injected the same kind of youthful energy Lady Sybil had, but with more of a charming naïveté. Lady Rose rebelled against her stern mother and sought romance and love on her own terms.
Jessica Brown-Findlay and Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley, both exitedDownton Abbeyin season 3, with their characters being killed off.
Lady Rose fell for Jack Ross (Gary Carr), an African American jazz singer, inDownton Abbeyseason 4. Rose having a romance with Jack and bringing him to Downton was scandalous, butthe storyline itself was controversial for howDownton Abbeyhandled the racial issueof the couple. After breaking it off with Jack, Rose’s engagement to Atticus, who is Jewish, was opposed by her own mother, and by Atticus' father, Daniel, Lord Sinderby (James Faulkner).
Rose’s good nature ultimately prevailed, and she married Atticus after helping Lord Sinderby maintain his dignity. Sinderby had an affair with a woman named Diana Clark (Alice Patten) and had a child out of wedlock. Rose’s quick thinking prevented a public scandal when Diana arrived at Rose and Atticus' engagement party. Despite her youthful transgressions and her controversial storylines,Lady Rose was one of the kindest souls inDownton Abbey.
Why Lily James Hasn’t Returned As Lady Rose In A Downton Abbey Movie
Lily James Became A Movie Star
WhenDownton Abbey’s inaugural film premiered in 2019, Lily James' absence from the main cast was noted by audiences. After all, Lady Rose was alive and well, and she had proven to be a popular member of the Crawley family.Downton Abbeycreator Julian Fellowes addressed James' absence, tellingEntertainment Weekly, that “She can’t be in it [because] she’s in every other film in the world at the moment.” Fellowes elaborated:
“Lily is now a big star, and it would’ve been incredibly difficult for her to find time in her schedule to come and play essentially a supporting role in Downton when her career was in a different place when she was with us. In the end, we all felt it was better to leave her in America.”
Lily James leftDownton Abbeybecauseshe was cast to play the lead role in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cinderella.This launched James on the path to movie stardom, with starring roles inPride and Prejudice and Zombies, Baby Driver, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Darkest Hour,playing Pamela Anderson in Hulu’sPam & Tommy, The Iron Claw, and soon, the reboot ofCliffhanger.
Julian Fellowes has called Lily James"our greatest success story,“noting how her star has risen since leavingDownton Abbey. James remains in-demand, and, sadly, Lily is not listed among thecast forDownton Abbey: The Grand Finale. As much as Lily James' career has been wildly successful since starring inDownton Abbey,Lady Rose is also fondly remembered by her family in Yorkshire, and by audiences who miss her bright and sunny demeanor.
