《唐顿庄园》第三季重磅回归 大表哥大小姐甜蜜婚礼

Viewers have been enthralled in the will they won't they storyline between Lady Mary and Matthew and tonight saw the pair finally walk down the aisle in the first episode of series three.

And what a way to kick off the highly-anticipated new series with the joyful and uplifting union of the couple in the wake of news that the future of Downton and the Crawley family is under serious threat.

The series begins by informing viewers it is now the 1920s and the family are preparing for Mary and Matthew's big day.

While the pair are head-over-heels in love they are also distant cousins and their union will secure the future of Downton - the dashing young men is the closest male heir to Lord Grantham.

But the road to inheritance does not run smoothly and when Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) makes a urgent trip to London he is told he has lost almost all of his wife's fortune after investing it in the Canadian Grand Trunk Line, a company about to be declared bankrupt.

'If there is not enough money to run it Downton must go', the accountant advises.

The head of the house returns to the grand home he faces losing to learn that a new footman has been employed, an extra wage that the family can now not afford.

Ahead of their daughter's wedding Grantham breaks down in tears as he confides in his wife telling her he has lost almost all her money.

Cora takes the news that her huge pot of money is now all but gone astonishingly well and tells her husband: 'We have a wedding to celebrate' before adding: 'If it is to be our last it will be a wonderful last.'

While Lord and Lady Gratham show the strength of their devotion Mary and Matthew's relationship is soon called into question.

Matthew learns he may well land a huge lump of inheritance himself but says he neither wants it nor will he give it to the Granthams which leaving Mary labeling him 'disappointing' before calling off the wedding right at the last minute.

Of course the pair do eventually make it down the aisle after a touching reconciliation bedroom scene, thank to the cunning of best man Tom Branson, the Irish chauffeur turned Sybil's husband who doesn't fail to highlight how uncomfortable he feels mixing with the upper classes at Downton at every possible opportunity.

The episode also sees the debut of Shirley MacLaine on the show who makes a grand entrance upstaging all the other characters with her breezy modern views and dislike for the English stuffiness.