Lady Marjorie Bellamy

The Lady Marjorie Helen Sybil Bellamy ("nee" Talbot-Carey; 6 May or 12 July 1864 – 15 April 1912) was a fictional character in the ITV drama "Upstairs, Downstairs". She was portrayed by Rachel Gurney.

Early life

Lady Marjorie was born on 6 May 1864, or according to another episode 12 July, at Southwold, Wiltshire in the home of her wealthy parents, Walter Talbot-Carey, 12th Earl of Southwold and Mabel, the Countess of Southwold. The Earl was a major influence in the Conservative Party. She had one brother, Hugo, Viscount Ashby, who later became 13th Earl of Southwold.

Despite parental objections, she ended up marrying the younger son of a country parson, Richard Bellamy in 1883 and they leased a grand Victorian townhouse from Lady Marjorie's father, 165, Eaton Place in London's fashionable Belgravia. They had two children, James (born 1884) and Elizabeth (born 1886). Shortly before their marriage, Richard had become a Conservative MP with the help of her father.

Marriage and Children

Lady Marjorie was portrayed as elegant and having something of the hauteur of women of her age and class but also as basically kind. She maintained social and class distinctions at all times and, unlike her upright husband, is less concerned about absolute moral values than appearances.

In the summer of 1906, she had an affair with a much younger man, Charles Victor Hammond, a Captain in the Khyber Rifles and a friend of her son. He asked her to run off with him but she refused as she realised her duty to her family. Her lover was later, by then a Major, killed during a battle in India in 1909. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. Later a man returned with love letters she wrote to him and he told her husband Richard Bellamy but he never revealed to her that he knew about the affair.

She was always having trouble with her two children. Elizabeth was a wild child and flirted with socialism, and she married in 1908 a man who failed to consummate their marriage and she had an affair with his publisher. Elizabeth became pregnant and delivered a daughter, Lucy Elizabeth. Her marriage was ended soon after. In 1908, James, who was always her favourite, had an affair with the housemaid Sarah and she ended up expecting. James was sent to India. Sarah was shipped off to Southwold, but returned in May 1909 in labour while the King was dining upstairs. The baby boy was stillborn.

Death

On 15 April 1912 Lady Marjorie and her lady's maid, Miss Roberts, were passengers on the ill-fated voyage of the RMS "Titanic". They were both presumed dead, but Roberts survived and later informed the family that she and Lady Marjorie reached a lifeboat after the iceberg collided but that her mistress had left the lifeboat to help a lost child find her mother. Roberts tried to follow Lady Marjorie but the lifeboat was lowered before she could climb out. The next day Roberts was rescued along with the other survivors, but was in a state of shock so no one knew her identity, with the result that both were listed as dead. Later when she came to in a New York hospital she realised who she was and subsequently made her way back to London.

Birthday

Note, the episode "A Family Gathering" has the Bellamys celebrating Lady Marjorie's birthday on the same day as The King died, 6 May. In the episode "Desirous of Change", her birthday is, however, said to be 12 July. However the July 12 date is from a book and most likely a typical error common in most books about families. Since the Bellamys celebrate the May 6 onscreen it is most likely her birthday.