"Robert...got pushed into this marriage. As he has come to know himself he has become nicer."

-Julian Fellowes in The World of Downton Abbey


April 1889

"I, Robert Albert Edward, take thee, Cora Mary, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth."

Lord Robert Crawley's voice echoed in the vast New York church. Despite the assurance in his voice, he was less than certain of what he was doing. This was not how he imagined his wedding day - the only person he really knew was the best man, his cousin James.

He had first met his bride in last year's London season. She had stood out at once. It wasn't just her foreign accent. Her dress and grooming was just a little too fashionable, her conversation and manner just a little too confident. Of course, she was still invited to all the major events that season. No host could resist the sheer glamour and wealth that Americans could bring.

She had singled him out from the swarm of suitors, treating him to that dazzling smile and effortless charm. He was flattered by her seemingly genuine interest, but still felt awkward and ill-at-ease in her company. He couldn't escape the thought that she was not interested in him personally - he had undoubtedly been selected following a trawl through The Titled American or Burke's Peerage.

His father (after making the usual enquiries into family finances and assets) had been delighted. He had swiftly packed his son off on a ship bound for America, tasked with 'saving the ancestral estates.' Once on American soil, Robert had dutifully proposed, setting in motion an endless sequence of negotiations and preparations. His father had insisted on an "unbreakable" entail agreement, which Robert had presented to his fiancée with some embarrassment. Once the legalities were complete, he took no interest in the wedding planning. He felt he had been coerced into marrying someone he barely knew.

"I, Cora Mary, take thee, Robert Albert Edward, to my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love, cherish and obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth."

Cora Levinson was marrying to 'shed the embarrassment of a fortune made in dry goods'. Her father and grandfather had made their wealth through hard work and good luck. Class and credibility could only be achieved through marriage to a noble family. Thus, at least as far as her mother was concerned, there was never any question of her marrying anyone but an English aristocrat. Unfortunately, Cora had found all her mother's preferences insufferably arrogant and condescending.

Robert was different. He wasn't her family's choice - he was her choice. She had immediately spotted him in the crowded London ballroom. His tall frame and broad shoulders meant he suited the formal evening wear perfectly. He didn't try to charm her or talk down to her. He was refreshingly honest and down-to-earth, and that mixture of self-depreciating wit and old-fashioned chivalry was so endearingly English.

She also recognised how shy and reserved he could be. So when he crossed the Atlantic the following spring, she looked after him - showing him round her native city, introducing him to society, engaging him in conversation. She wasn't naive enough to think that he loved her, but she hope they would grow to need and care for each other.

...thereto have given and pledged their troth, each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a Ring, and by joining hands ; I pronounce that they are Man and Wife."


Marriage vows from 1871 Book of Common Prayer