Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcast

Often the starting point for one of my books on the history of Highclere Castle is a conversation with David Rymill. David is our archivist and there's not much he doesn't know about the family history thanks to the extensive archive of documents and letters dating back to when the family first acquired the house in the 17th century. I find the archive here at Highclere fascinating so I was grateful to David for sitting down with me to discuss his work. You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

Jane Austen is one of England’s most celebrated and greatest novelists and Hampshire - the county where Highclere Castle is situated -  played an important part in her life, not just as the place she lived but as inspiration to many of her novels.Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors so I was thrilled to sit down with Lizzie Dunford - Director of Jane Austen's House - one of the most treasured Austen sites in the world.The cottage, in a village to the south-east of Highclere called Chawton, is where Jane Austen lived for the last eight years of her life. Here her genius flourished and she wrote, revised and had published all six of her globally beloved novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

We're back after a month away to recharge our podcast batteries! My guest for March is someone very familiar to British TV audiences - weather presenter Laura Tobin. Laura has just written a book called 'Everyday Ways To Save Our Planet' - and so I invited her to come along to Highclere and share some of her tips with me! You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

Happy New Year! We begin 2023 in conversation with one of the people who has helped me unearth the rich aviation history that surrounds Highclere Castle. I first met George Bacon at an event to commemorate Sir Geoffrey De Havilland's first flight on the Highclere Estate at Seven Barrows. Since then he's become a friend and contributor to many events here at the real Downton Abbey. You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

My guest this month has just published a wonderfully amusing book that looks back on her incredible life. Susannah Constantine is best known as a TV fashion expert, but as she tells me in this podcast her years on television are the least interesting thing about her. Join us in the castle's morning room  for some extraordinary anecdotes involving Royalty, teapots and sobriety!You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

The theme of our recent Highclere Festival was the path to the discovery of  the tomb of Tutankhamun. It is an extraordinary tale of  two unconventional men, Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter, neither of whom had studied archaeology at university but both of whom, through experience and passion, found the most extraordinary tomb of a Pharaoh. It's the subject of my new book 'The Earl and the Pharaoh'. Joining us over the festival weekend to help further our understanding was egyptologist Professor Joann Fletcher - I couldn't resist luring her away to talk to her for my podcast! You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

The  death of Her Majesty the Queen last month was both sad and unsettling. My own experience of meeting her was entirely due to her long friendship with my father-in-law and mother-in-law. In fact my father-in-law was her racing manager at one time, and my husband had the great honour of being her godson. So for this month's podcast I'm joined by Geordie to share some memories of a remarkable person. You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down in the castle library to speak to Gavin Thurston.  Combining lenses and penmanship, he has written a fabulous book called “Journey into the Wild, The Secret life of a cameraman” which shares stories of his time behind the scenes during the course of many years filming with Sir David Attenborough. You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

The recent record high temperatures in the UK has brought climate change back into the headlines. Seasoned climatologists who knew we'd one day break through the 40C barrier have spoken about being stunned to see it happen so soon. Here at Highclere we're always thinking about what we can do to protect our fragile planet.  With that in mind my guest this month is very much on topic. Rod Rougelot is a good friend who has spent decades working in recycling and sustainability. I found our conversation both interesting and thought provoking - I hope you do too. You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.

Last week I was in the US, and I was honoured to be  invited by the Newport Preservation Society to speak at a number of events in order to help them raise money to sustain some great houses they look after. Many of the houses were lost post WW2, but a number of determined women have helped save what is now left.From lunches to meetings, press conferences, filming, talks and presentations, it was a busy and fascinating schedule. I met some wonderful people and was made to feel extremely welcome for which I am grateful. One of those people was the chairman of the society Bill Lucey, who is my guest on this month's podcast. You can hear more episodes of Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcasts at https://www.ladycarnarvon.com/podcast/New episodes are published on the first day of every month.