Duchess of Rutland: Powys farmer's daughter's journey to castle-dwelling aristocrat

Growing up on her parents' farm in the Welsh Marches, a young Emma Watkins hoped to one day marry a farmer and have a farm of their own.

Little did she know that she would be the Duchess of Rutland, living in her husband's ancestral home Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire with their five children.

From removing a dead pigeon from a flooding gutter to being caught in her nightdress by mesmerised tourists, living in a castle is no fairy tale, she said.

There have also been many highs, such as hosting the Queen for lunch and watching the castle take a starring role in Netflix's The Crown, standing in for Windsor Castle - although she has not watched it as she is not a fan of television.

The duke and duchess have been separated since 2012 but both still live in the castle.

"We're great friends, we see each other every day so it's business as usual," she explained.

The duchess's upbringing was quite different to the life she leads today.

Her mother, from Presteigne in Powys and her father from nearby Knighton, met at a young farmers' dance and she grew up on their farm just outside her father's home town.

"Everyone had a job, everyone had something to do whether it be looking after the chickens and collecting the eggs in the morning, helping with the B&B, helping at lambing time - we were very much a hands on family and everyone mucked in," said the duchess.

She trained as an opera singer at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and worked in land agency before setting up an interior design business at the age of 25.

She was 28 when she met David Manners at a dinner party and had no idea he was heir to an imposing castle and one of the most senior hereditary titles in the land.

"My ultimate was to marry a farmer hopefully... I'd always imagined that's where I'd end up, I wasn't in any way looking to marry into the British aristocracy," she said.

"When love hits I'm afraid it leads you forwards."

The newlyweds initially lived at Knipton Lodge on the castle's estate.

Following the death of the 10th Duke of Rutland in 1999, David Manners succeeded his father to the dukedom and the couple and their young family moved into the family seat Belvoir Castle in 2001.

"I was very aware of how hauntingly big and scary it all was for the children," said the duchess, who has written an autobiography about her unexpected journey.

The move was not without teething problems.

"When we first moved in the children came into our bedroom screaming and saying 'the castle's flooding' so we took some buckets to where the drips were in our private drawing room," she said.

"I went on to the roof and I think one of the most satisfying things was when I put my hand down into the gutter and pulled out a dead pigeon - that resolved the problem in an instant.

"You just have to get on and do whatever is needed."

Ghosts were another unexpected obstacle to overcome.

She said when her children were young they were left "traumatised and white" after seeing ghostly Medieval men and servants, prompting her to call in the Bishop of Leicester to perform an exorcism.

She has never seen a ghost in the castle herself but has been woken by ghoulish sounds in the dead of night.

"It was horrible... I've heard children in corridors and gone and try and find them to see if mine are out of bed and there's nothing to be found," she said.

"I'm quite strict with them [the ghost] I was so annoyed that they were playing around with my children's happiness as I told them to go to hell."

Marrying a duke also meant the duchess also had to adjust people addressing her as 'your grace', managing a raft of household staff and struggling to decipher the complex etiquette expected of British aristocracy.

"I'd make mistakes and then people would guide me, " she said.

"I'd always ask for help, I should have bought Debrett's."

Living in a castle that is open to the public can also bring its challenges.

The family erected a screen around their private quarters but their laundry room is visible from a public staircase.

One morning the duchess was dashing about in her nightdress when she realised she had an audience.

"It was about 7:30 in the morning and there were about 20 or 30 Texans from a coach tour all pointing down at me," she said.

"Luckily is was a real granny nightie and so nothing to be ashamed of."

She said this was a good example of the "reality of living in private heritage.... you never know who's in our home".

She has become fond of all the visitors: "During Covid it was so lonely because it was so dead - these big houses, they need people," she said.

Over the years the duchess has hosted people from all over the world but said her highlight was hosting the Queen for lunch in 1997.

"Her energy and that radiant smile will stay with me forever.

"She's an enormous legacy of a lady and an icon of all our ages."

Other famous visitors include Princess Diana who came to her husband's 21st birthday party.

The duchess said, in bygone times, Queen Victoria had stayed at the castle to draw and paint one of her predecessors Violet Manners, Duchess of Rutland.

The castle has featured in many films and TV series, including The Da Vinci Code, The Young Victoria, The Haunting and Victoria and Abdul.

Most recently it starred in Netflix's The Crown as a stand-in for Windsor Castle.

"It was a great honour," said the duchess, who disguised herself as a cleaner to watch filming take place.

"It's always better to see something in an anonymous way - I went with my team and just peaked behind the columns in the ballroom and watched the stars," she said.

"What always blows my mind is how patient the actors are because there are so many takes."

The duchess runs all the estate's commercial activities - the castle and its estate costs a minimum of £1m a year in upkeep.

Surely she must feel the pressure to make ends meet?

"No, I don't actually. We've built a business that supports it," she said.

They host shooting parties, weddings, theatrical productions and have recently created a retail village by restoring the estate's old buildings.

The duchess also spends time hosting a podcast, has presented television programmes including ITV's Castles, Keeps and Country Homes and produced a book about Belvoir Castle.

"You have to make the wheels turn, you have to make it work financially," she said.

She said she made a point of being very hands-on and interviews every new member of staff at the castle herself.

"You're only ever as good as the team around you and I have an amazing team of people.

"It's great fun and it never stops being a surprise".