In Downton Abbey: A New Era, Violet inherits a villa in southern France.
The property comes from the late Marquis de Montmirail, who had given it to Violet years earlier. Its unexpected appearance in her affairs sends members of the Crawley family to France, where they meet the new marquis and face a dispute over ownership.
Violet ultimately decides that the villa should go to her great-granddaughter Sybbie, Tom Branson and the late Lady Sybil’s daughter. She hopes the inheritance will give Sybbie financial and social standing closer to that of her cousins.
The property is easy to confuse with Downton’s main estate or with the French family’s marquisate, but the film specifically identifies Violet’s inheritance as a villa. The 2022 film’s central mystery involves both the property and a troubling suggestion about Robert Crawley’s parentage.