Some bedroom secrets can’t hide behind closed doors. For the co-creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, an unbelievable true story served as the inspiration for one of the most important and scandalous plot lines for the entire series: the death of Ambassador Kemal Pamuk in Lady Mary's bed. While the shocking moment and its aftermath played out for the delight of viewers, the real story remains shrouded by a veil of secrecy.
During Season 1, the Ambassador’s amorous intentions are quickly realized by the stunned heiress after making a deal with servant Thomas Barrow to sneak him into her bedroom. After refusing to leave her bed-chamber despite Mary's initial requests, his pushy advances soon thrust the couple into the throes of heated passion. Then, Pamuk suddenly dies mid-romance.
Downton Abbey sees a panicked Mary seek help from her lady’s maid, Anna Bates, who enlists Lady Cora to help solve the crisis. The trio then sneaks the body back to his room, leaving him to be discovered by someone else. As a sign of the times, the largest concern for Cora is mitigating any damage it may do to the family’s public image and also to “conceal Lady Mary’s shame.”
It’s no shock; Edwardian England was anything but a hive of equal opportunity for women -- especially around any kind of sexual liberation. The English double-standard around women and sex threatened to besmirch the entire family legacy if word got out about Mary’s illicit dalliance with the dashing Pamuk. However, according to Fellowes, it was a story of art imitating life.
Fellowes revealed that a friend and member of British high society recounted an incredible discovery they made in the 1990s after pulling back the cover on a long-forgotten diary written by a great aunt. According to the book, the incident happened around 1890. A guest was visiting a prominent English family at their grand estate home when "one of them had smuggled this diplomat into her room and he died… she was at her wits' end and woke up the matron.” Fearing an explosive scandal, they sprang into action.
Just as depicted in Downton Abbey, the real-life matron realized if the story leaked, it would be devastating to the family’s image and needed to fix it right away. So, “they woke everyone in the passage, who carried the corpse to his bed.” After sneaking him back to his room, he was left for someone else to find.
While Lady Mary’s secret was eventually uncovered, that didn’t seem to be the case in the real-life story. According to the person who discovered the diary, when cross-checking the diary written by his great-grandfather, it said, “'We had a great tragedy this weekend. [The diplomat] was found dead by his valet in bed.” Therefore, the plan seemed to work. And after more than 100 years, the incredible family secret is still alive and safely tucked away since Fellowes refuses to disclose which family the real story belongs to.