Tom Branson is a beloved character in the Downton Abbey franchise who has been in the series and movies, but who is this character married to?
Netflix has recently released Downton Abbey: A New Era which hit cinemas back in 2022, but has only just come to streaming platforms. The film is the second Downton spin-off and features all of the beloved main characters from the previous films and TV series. The film is set predominantly in the South of France as the family travel to Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, (played by Maggie Smith) sprawling secret home to enjoy a summer in luxury.
The series begins with a wedding but who exactly does Tom marry? Here’s what you need to know…
(Image credit: Universal/ Focus Features)
Who does Tom Branson marry?
Downton Abbey: A New Era begins in 1928 with Tom Branson marrying Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton). Lucy is first introduced in the first Downton Abbey movie which was released in 2019.
Lucy is the illegitimate daughter and only heir to Lady Maud Bagshaw, Queen Mary’s Lady-in-Waiting. In Downton Abbey (2019), Tom and Lucy begin a sweet romance after the King and Queen come to Downton and he meets Lucy who is working as Lady Maud’s maid – despite really being her daughter.
The pair then shared some secret conversations, rather longing looks, a little kiss. Violet discovers the truth that Lady Maud is leaving her maid Lucy her estate because she is her real daughter. This then leads Violet to begin plotting a union between Lucy and Tom as she wants to ensure that the estate left to Lucy will ultimately come back to the Crawleys through their romantic union.
At the end of the film, Lucy and Tom are seen dancing together outside on the balcony, away from the eyes of those who would judge their union. This then leads nicely into the 2022 film when the couple is tying the knot, with the whole Crawley family supporting their union and Sybbie acting as a bridesmaid for her new stepmother.
(Image credit: Alamy)
What happened to Sybil?
Lady Sybil was the feminist, trouser-wearing, youngest daughter of Cora and Robert Crawley. Unlike Mary and Edith, Sybil shunned her aristocratic duties when she found herself falling in love with the footman, Thomas Branson. Sadly their romantic story was cut short as in series three of Downton Abbey, Sybil died during childbirth from eclampsia.
Tom was devastated and named their newborn daughter Sybil after his beloved wife who later becomes lovingly nicknamed as Sybbie in the series and subsequent films.
In Downton Abbey: A New Era, Violet leaves her home in the South of France to Sybbie, Tom and the late Lady Sybil’s daughter. This means that she will be on the same social and financial par as her cousins George, Marigold, Caroline, and Peter as she grows older.