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Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcast

Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcast

By: Highclere Media
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My husband, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, and I have the enormous privilege and pleasure of living in, and taking care of, my husband’s family home, Highclere Castle, which is better known to many people as the setting for the popular television programme “Downton Abbey”. Thanks to this series, our home has, over the last few years, become one of the most well-known and iconic houses in the world. My Podcast is my way of trying to share the stories and heritage of this wonderful building and estate, and all the people and animals that live and work here, so that you can get to know and love it as I do.

© 2026 Lady Carnarvon's Official Podcast
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Episodes
  • Rooted in Adventure: Lady Carnarvon and explorer Levinson Wood on trees, history and The Great Tree Story
    Jun 30 2026

    I’m delighted to welcome author and explorer Levison Wood to Highclere, where we talk about my great love; trees and his book, The Great Tree Story: how forests have shaped our world.

    Levison shares how studying the Grand Tour at university inspired his lifelong passion for travel and storytelling, from hitchhiking across Europe and Central Asia to serving as an officer in the Parachute Regiment and deploying to Afghanistan. He recalls founding a production company and undertaking extraordinary long-distance walks, including nine months walking the White Nile from its farthest source to the Mediterranean, followed by the length of the Himalayas and other epic routes.

    We explore what drew him to write about trees, especially an experience with the Asháninka in the Amazon and we discuss ancient yews, cedars, redwoods, Highclere’s planting of 22,000 trees and his plans to adapt The Great Tree Story into a feature documentary.

    01:05 Grand Tour Roots

    03:26 Modern Travel Risks

    04:56 Army Years and Afghanistan

    05:49 From Soldier to Storyteller

    07:31 Walking the Nile

    09:06 More Epic Expeditions

    10:33 Planning and Logistics

    12:31 Highclere Explorer Heritage

    14:30 Why Trees Matter

    17:32 Ancient Trees and Estate Planting

    19:42 Redwoods and Tree Lore

    23:29 Trees in Culture and Craft

    24:33 Green Man and Next Film

    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.


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    29 mins
  • Survival of the Friendliest: Lady Carnarvon talks to Rutger Bregman about the "real" Lord of the Flies and the power of kindness
    Jun 1 2026

    I welcome Dutch historian Rutger Bregman to the podcast after first messaging him on Instagram and we talk about what I took from his book Humankind and my own wish to bring people together to remember friendship and kindness.

    Rutger reflects on Dutch directness and equality shaped by living with water, from the 1953 flood to the Delta Works, and shares why he writes for a general audience about big questions of human nature.

    We discuss his challenge to the “veneer theory” and his belief in “survival of the friendlies,” alongside a real shipwreck story near Tonga where six boys survived 15 months through cooperation. Our conversation turns to bullying, family and attachment, the Second World War and Rutger’s research for Moral Ambition on how resistance spreads simply by asking others to help.

    01:10 Dutch Culture and Directness

    04:01 Water Engineering and Delta Works

    05:41 Early Civilizations and Conflict

    06:58 Why Bregman Writes Big History

    08:12 Debunking Human Nature Myths

    10:07 Cooperation at Highclere Today

    12:49 Tempest and Amoral People

    13:55 Real Lord of the Flies Story

    19:00 Bullying Attachment and Family

    21:41 Victorian Fathers Revisited

    22:40 Reform Politics And Women

    23:28 Why Study War

    24:04 Resistance Myth Debunked

    25:24 Heroes Are Asked

    27:29 Unconventional Organizers

    30:25 Kindness After Loss

    32:19 Kindness Is Contagious

    35:03 Lessons From Animals

    36:18 Veneer Theory And Dickens

    37:59 British Indirectness

    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.


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    42 mins
  • The real story behind Burnt Norton: Lady Carnarvon and Caroline Montague on Writing Havens, Burnt Norton’s Past and Stories That Heal
    May 1 2026

    I’m delighted to welcome historical novelist Caroline Montague to the castle, where we talk about how writing offers a refuge from everyday life and how she protects her creative time in her office with her dogs. Caroline shares the remarkable history of Burnt Norton, its links to T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets,” and the dramatic tale of Sir William Kite, whose scandal, bankruptcy, and death by fire helped give the house its name, alongside stories of the “white lady” said to haunt the top floor.

    We discuss her path from law and interior design to writing, her planning process shaped by a firm agent, shifting titles and covers, and her current rewrite of a book about a famous royal swap. We also chat about spaniels, horses and the comfort animals bring.

    00:49 Writing Routine and Space

    01:35 Career Path to Author

    02:41 Burnt Norton and TS Eliot

    04:42 William Kite House Tragedy

    07:02 Ghost Stories White Lady

    09:51 House History and Hauntings

    11:25 Plotting Process and Ideas

    13:16 Deadlines Output and Titles

    15:18 Rewriting The Hook

    16:08 Jigsaw Writing Method

    17:17 Past Healing Present

    18:17 Woods And Creativity

    18:35 Spaniel Life And Social Media

    19:59 Dressage Highs And Loss

    21:09 New Horse Gio

    22:33 Italy And Spanish Stallions

    25:08 Books Animals And Imagination

    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.


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    27 mins
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Love, love, love this podcast! Lady Carnarvon narrates with such an enthusiasm and passion for her home, with her bubbly nature at the core and a never ending knowledge of all things Highclere, you can imagine you are there. She is a walking encyclopedia. For anyone still decrying the "luck" of the owners of such great homes, I would challenge them to have the energy that is needed from dawn until dusk to do all that is necessary to keep them up and running and to move with the times to bring new ideas to generate the huge income necessary. Lord and Lady Carnarvon and their team, incredibly, do just that. I wonder if they sleep! So many great guests and wonderful to listen to many of their long standing team, or should I say family, take us back to the golden days with their memories and to hear stories of life on the Estate in the early 1900's and the characters that could only be from that era. I have enjoyed the most pleasurable lengthy dog walks this week while binge listening every episode and garnering several odd looks when laughing out loud. I cannot wait for the next installment.

An absolutely joy from start to finish...

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