Description
A revealing new series that goes behind the scenes at one of Britain’s most extraordinary aristocratic estates.
Lord Bath has handed control of the £190 million estate to his eldest son Ceawlin. But challenges lie ahead, as he and his newly-titled wife, Emma, take on a staff of hundreds, two villages and a safari park, along with the enormous Elizabethan family mansion.
In this episode, the handover gets off to a difficult start. Ceawlin upsets Lord Bath when he moves in, and the couple stop speaking to one another. In the village on the estate, there’s further unrest, after Ceawlin puts up the villagers’ rents.
Meanwhile, Emma settles into her new life as Lady Weymouth. She now has the run of the 130-room historic house – but she must get used to sharing her home with a daily stream of visitors.
Over in the safari park, the animal keepers watch the family from afar, and wonder how Ceawlin will compare to his father. Lord Bath is a flamboyant, controversial figure. Although now in retirement, he continues to enjoy a famously open marriage. Various ‘wifelets’ still visit when his wife is away.
Hugh Bonneville narrates.