The Sinking of the Titanic

The RMS Titanic perished in the North Atlantic Ocean early on 15 April 1912, four days into her first trip from Southampton to New York City. Titanic, the biggest ocean liner in operation at the time, had an estimated 2,224 persons on board when she collided with an iceberg on Sunday, 14 April 1912. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later, on Monday, 15 April, at 02:20 (ship's time; 05:18 GMT), killed almost 1,500 people, making it one of the worst peacetime maritime catastrophes in history.

The first episode of Downton Abbey opens with the receipt of a telegram, which contains the devastating news that the world's largest ship, the RMS Titanic, has sunk. Both the above and below characters are shocked and saddened by the loss of almost 1,500 lives in one of the biggest maritime tragedies in history. Because the luxury liner carried some of the world's wealthiest individuals (a first-class ticket cost up to $2,560 — nearly $72,000 in 2022), the accident had a significant impact on the British nobility, notably the Crawley family. Onboard the liner was James Crawley, Lord Grantham's (Hugh Bonneville) cousin and heir to the whole Downton Abbey estate. The first season of Downton Abbey is driven by the question of who will inherit the estate.