Downton Abbey: A Look Inside (VIDEO)

The real residents of "Downton Abbey" are almost more interesting than its fictional inhabitants, ABC's Nick Watt reports from Highclere Castle in Berkshire, England, where the hit series is filmed.

Watt had the opportunity to visit the castle, and reports that the story of a past Earl is almost too fantastic for television, involving a pharaoh's curse and the fortune of an illegitimate daughter. The current Earl of Carnarvon and his wife, though not as well-staffed as their fictional counterparts in "Downton Abbey," exhibit some parallels to the show in their own lives: they still dine in formal dress, for example, and the Earl, who claims the Queen as his godmother, is the son and grandson of Americans.

Check out the video above for a peek inside the real "Downton Abbey" and highlights from Watt's interview with one of its current inhabitants, the wife of the Earl of Carnarvon.