Downton Abbey Quotes

Lord Merton: Who are those men measuring on the green as we came past?

Lady Mary: They are building the dais for the queen at the parade.

Lord Merton: Oh, how exciting.

Isobel Merton: Seems rather a waste of money.

Violet Crawley: Oh, here we go.

Cora Crawley: Isn't that what the monarchy's for? To brighten the lives of the nation with stateliness and glamor.

Isobel Merton: To quote Tennyson, "Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood."

Violet Crawley: Will you have enough clichés to get you through the visit?

Isobel Merton: If not, I'll come to you.

Violet Crawley: Machiavelli is frequently underrated. He had many qualities.

Isobel Merton: So did Caligula - not all of them charming.

Lady Mary Talbot: What are you up to, granny?

Violet Crawley: Well, ideally, I would like Maud to see your father as the son she never had.

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: Will she be the mother I never had?

Violet Crawley: Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: Let's not argue.

Violet Crawley: I never argue, I explain.

Isobel Merton: Oh Violet. After all these years you still astonish me.

Violet Crawley: Oh good, I'm glad I'm a revelation and not a disappointment.

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham: No maid, no valet, no nanny, even!

Bertie Hexham: It's 1927. We're modern folk.

Henry Talbot: Leave Downton? We're stuck with it, aren't we?

Lady Mary Talbot: Yes. Yes, I believe we are.

Cora Crawley: Your Majesties, welcome to Downton Abbey.

King George V: We're glad to be here, Lady Grantham. Grantham.

King George V: And you, Lady Grantham, were you affected by the general strike?

Violet Crawley: Well, my maid was rather curt with me. While it was wrong, sir, but, you know, she is a Communist - at heart. So, I suppose it was to be expected.

Violet Crawley: Of course, little Mary, could hammer in a tent peg with her teeth.

Isobel Merton: I wonder who she got that from?

Violet Crawley: You know, I'm always surprised when you praise me.

Isobel Merton: I'm surprised to hear that I have.

Robert Crawley: Good night, Mama. Remember to pray for us. Mainly, for better weather.

Violet Crawley: I'll put in a word.

Robert Crawley: Are you here for dinner, Mama? It's a buffet.

Violet Crawley: Well, I'm not changed.

Lady Edith: We won't change either. So, you just need to take off your hat.

Violet Crawley: You talk as if that were easy.

Anna Bates: If that's all, milady.

Lady Mary: I suppose.

Violet Crawley: How comforting to see you here, Carson. What prompted you to take up the flaming sword again?

Mr Carson: I felt I should go where I could do the most good, milady.

Violet Crawley: Wise words for all of us.

Bertie Hexham: How could you know that and how could you prove it?

Violet Crawley: We find a friendly judge.

Robert Crawley: Friendly or corrupt?

Violet Crawley: Whichever does the trick.

Thomas Barrow: I don't quite understand where it leaves me.

Robert Crawley: Well, you can be a sort of...

Thomas Barrow: With your permission, I'd prefer not to be a "sort of" anything, milord.

[first lines]

Andy: Good morning.

Mail Delivery Man: A special one today.

[hands Andy the mail]

Andy: Blimey.

[repeated line]

Lady Edith: Well, that's that.

Maud Bagshaw: I'm afraid to your disliking, but, she says that she and Tom Branson have agreed to correspond.

Violet Crawley: Dislike it? I will *lick* the stamps myself.

Maud Bagshaw: You are amazing, Violet. You haven't won, you know.

Violet Crawley: I don't believe in defeat.

Robert Crawley: Is there any chance Henry might be back?

Lady Mary: Well, I doubt it. I'll send a telegram. But, there's a motor show in Chicago that I know he cannot chuck.

Daisy: I agree with Mr. Branson, I don't like Kings either. I suppose that makes me a Republican too?

Andy: Are the English allowed to be?

Robert Crawley: Are you excited?

Cora Crawley: I am a bit. Are you?

Robert Crawley: Would it be common to admit it?

Cora Crawley: Not to an American.

Monsieur Courbet: You! Where can I put this?

Mrs Patmore: Don't tempt me.

Tom Branson: He heard my sympathies lay with Ireland and the Republic.

Lady Mary: Don't they?

Tom Branson: Not at any cost. I'm a law and order man these days. That's what you lot have done to me.

Tom Branson: To be honest, I'm not much of a royalist. Although, I probably shouldn't say that out loud.

Princess Mary: Certainly not to a stranger. That seems odd, as the Crawleys would die for the Crown if they had to.

Tom Branson: You can love people you disagree with.

Princess Mary: And you love them?

Tom Branson: They're decent - at the core.

Tom Branson: They're silly too. Snobbish at times. I wouldn't give tuppence for their politics. But, I've learned to be happy with all of that. And besides, they're my daughter's family.

Princess Mary: And she lives here?

Tom Branson: I nearly took her away once. But, she belongs here now. And I spent so much of my life not belonging anywhere. Its important to me.

Princess Mary: I suppose in the end, it's deciding what's important, isn't it.

Cora Crawley: Whatever may have happened does not excuse his behavior.

Queen Mary: I can assure you, Lady Grantham, we are quite used to people behaving strangely when we are near.

Mrs Patmore: Let's hear it for the King and Queen.

Mrs Patmore, Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes, Daisy, Andy, Anna Bates, Mr Bates, Mr Molesley, Miss Baxter: [raising their glasses in a toast] The King and Queen!

Robert Crawley: Carson, what happened to the royal servants last night?

Mr Carson: Hard to say, milord. They sort of - gave up the ghost.

Robert Crawley: Well, you managed splendidly. Although, I could have done without Molseley's aria. Please thank the staff for saving the day.

Lady Mary: You're looking very sunny tonight.

Lady Edith: I'm happy. Why? Does it bother you?

[last lines]

Mrs Hughes: Downton is still standing.

Mr Carson: Elsie, a hundred years from now, Downton will still be standing - and the Crawleys will still be here. And *that* - is a promise.

Mrs Hughes: We'll see, Charlie. We'll see.

Anna Bates: Is it always like this?

Richard Ellis: A royal visit is like a swan on a lake. Grace and serenity above, demented kicking down below.