Which baronet jilts Lady Edith at the altar in Downton Abbey?

The baronet who jilts Lady Edith at the altar is Sir Anthony Strallan.

Edith’s relationship with Sir Anthony develops during the early part of series three. He is a family friend and an older widower whose age and crippled arm make Lord Grantham worry about the match. Robert initially discourages the marriage, partly because he believes Strallan is not suitable for Edith.

Edith nevertheless insists that the engagement should proceed, and Robert eventually accepts it. At the wedding, however, Strallan becomes overwhelmed by the Crawley family’s reservations and by his own doubts. He announces that he cannot go through with the ceremony, leaving Edith humiliated and heartbroken before fleeing the church.

The scene is sometimes misremembered as a rejection by Sir Richard Carlisle, but Carlisle is Lady Mary’s former fiancé and does not jil t Edith. Sir Anthony is played by Robert Bathurst and appears as a recurring family friend before his failed wedding. Edith later finds lasting love with Bertie Pelham.