Downton Abbey stars with famous relatives: Bridgerton and royal connections revealed

Maggie Smith, aka Lady Violet Crawley, has passed on her affinity for acting. After tying the knot with her first husband – theatre legend Sir Robert Graham Stephens – in 1967, Maggie welcomed two sons, who have since followed in her footsteps. 

Chris Larkin, her eldest, has established an impressive career with roles in Casualty, Doctor, Who, Father Brown, and Outlander. Meanwhile, his younger brother Toby Stephens has lent his talents to Sharpe's Challenge, Jane Eyre, Vexed, Black Sails and One Day. 

Matthew Goode is the half-brother of TV star, Sally Meen. She spent her early career as a weather presenter on GMTV before landing gigs with talk radio and 963 Liberty Radio in London. 

Elizabeth McGovern hails from an incredibly interesting family. Her paternal grandfather, William Montgomery McGovern, was a famous adventurer and professor, who is listed as a possible source of inspiration for the character, Indiana Jones. 

Meanwhile, Elizabeth's maternal ancestors include US diplomat Ethelbert Watts, Admiral Charles P Snyder and Democratic congressman Charles P Snyder. 

The Cora Crawley actress, who was born in Evanston, Illinois, is also the sister of author, Cammie McGovern. One of Cammie's best-loved novels, The Art of Seeing, is inspired by her relationship with Elizabeth.

Penelope Wilton was born into a family of actors. Her mother, Alice Linda Travers, aunt Linden Travers and uncle, Bill Travers, were all natural performers. Bill, who ended up travelling to Hollywood, was signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in the films Bhowani Junction (1956) and The Seventh Sin (1957). 

Bill's best-known role came in 1966 when he starred in Born Free, alongside his wife Virginia McKenna. The film went on to bag two Academy Awards for Score and Best Original Song. 

Penelope's aunt, Linden, also enjoyed success in the world of film, and even featured in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, The Lady Vanishes (1938). The Stars Look Down (1940) The Ghost Train (1941), and Quartet (1948) are among her other credits. 

Lily James has a famous grandmother. Known as the iconic voice of 'Mother' – the ship's computer in Alien (1979), the American actress has also appeared in episodes of The Benny Hill Show (1979-86), and Miss Marple (1987). Helen passed away in 2007. 

Harry Hadden-Paton has a royal connection! As it turns out, the actor – who plays Bertie Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham – is the godson of Sarah, Duchess of York. Back in 2020, the two even teamed up on an episode of her YouTube series, Storytime with Fergie.  

Not only is Imelda Staunton married to her Downton co-star, Jim Carter, but she's also the mother of Bessie Carter – aka Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton. Speaking to The Times in 2019, Bessie revealed that she and Imelda were "more like siblings than mother and daughter" when she was growing up. 

"Mum is so brave and strong and fierce — she doesn't sugar-coat anything and she'll speak up if something isn't right or fair, but she also has this soft, emotional charisma," added the star. "She can read a situation quickly and tries hard to understand everyone's point of view. It's what makes her a great actor, but also a great mum."

Following Bridgerton, Bessie will next appear in the new drama, Outrageous.