ITV has released a Downton Abbey Christmas Special trailer which offers the first video footage from the highly-anticipated event.

Downton Abbey’s season 4 Christmas Special naturally airs on Christmas Day and will take the entire group to London for Rose’s “coming out” at Buckingham Palace.

Cora’s mother features prominently in the trailer as she bestows some reality upon Violet. “My world is coming nearer, and your world is slipping further and further away.” Is it a sign of things to come in Downton Abbey series 5?

Elsewhere in the trailer:
– “All women need someone to show a bit of interest now and then,” Mrs. Patmore tells Mr. Carson.
– Lady Mary is seen dancing with Lord Gillingham while Charles Blake stands at the side and watches with silent jealously.
– Mrs. Hughes is still worried about Bates, and Lady Mary tries to talk to the murderer about the crime he committed in a roundabout way.

Absent from the trailer is Paul Giamatti who takes a new role as Cora’s brother. We shared official stills from the episode earlier this week, and Giamatti features in all of them.

The synopsis for the Downton Abbey Christmas Special notes the special locations you see in the trailer. “The episode was filmed in spectacular locations in London and the south of England including Lancaster House, which was used to depict the interiors of Buckingham Palace when Cora presents Lady Rose to The King and Queen.”

The latest series has not started airing yet in the United States. It begins on January 5, and PBS is promoting the new episodes by rolling out a Downton Abbey tea truck in New York City this week.