The owners of the real-life castles featured on 'The Crown' and 'Downton Abbey' are losing income and overwhelmed with maintenance needs because of coronavirus shutdowns

• Castles in the United Kingdom have had to close to the public due to the coronavirus lockdown.
• The Duchess of Rutland, who runs Belvoir Castle, told Town & Country that, without income from visitors, she has a "skeleton of a team" and that she's "let all cleaning go, nearly 250 rooms and the dust is just piling."
• Meanwhile, Lady Carnarvon, who lives in Downton Abbey's Highclere Castle, is helping out those who live on the cottages of her estate.
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Castles and stately homes in the English countryside have closed to the public because of coronavirus shutdowns, leaving their owners without a sizable income and leftover staffers looking after thousands of acres of land, Town & Country's Annabelle Spranklen reports. Spranklen spoke with two castle owners, the Duchess of Rutland, who lives in and runs a 250-room palace known as Belvoir Castle, seen on Netflix's "The Crown," and Lady Carnarvon, who lives in Downton Abbey's Highclere Castle.

"I've got a total skeleton of a team and that's me at the forefront," the duchess told Spranklen. "I've let all cleaning go, nearly 250 rooms and the dust is just piling. But it can just wait."

The function of state homes has evolved over the past centuries; what were once private estates are now largely public locations and tourist attractions where visitors can take cute Instagram photos. Today, these homes depend on visitors for income to help fund property upkeep and to help pay the staffers required to manage and maintain properties of their size. But without visitors, there is no income, and without income, there's dust piling in the lavish old rooms.

Some have even enlisted their own family members to help manage their estates.

"We have a WhatsApp group going, it's called the Corona Clan and in the mornings I share a to-do list. I don't have staff anymore but I do have kids so I tell them where they need to be and what they need to be doing. I feel a little like the Sergeant Major," the duchess told Town & Country.

"I would imagine it is not dissimilar to how the castle was in the First World War, in those times when family members came to the forefront — it's a great time to be reflective of our ancestors," she continued.

These homes date back centuries. Located in the county of Hampshire, Highclere has over 200 rooms, and spans over 1,000 acres, while Belvoir, situated in Leicestershire, sits on 16,000 acres of land.

Both have survived through some of England's most notable eras, such as the reign of Queen Victoria and the 19th-century Napoleonic Wars. During World War I, the previous owner of Highclere, Lady Almina, turned the castle into a military hospital, and served as head matron for the nurses there, according to Spranklen. During the Second World War, it housed children who had to evacuate from the UK's major cities.

Today, Highclere is run by Lady Carnarvon and her husband, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon. In the absence of visitors, the family has taken to helping out the local community, specifically those who live in the cottages on the estate.

"I phone those who are older and chat often whilst I am on emails, which can go a little wrong with inadvertent typing," Lady Carnarvon told Spranklen. "Just like every other business, virtually overnight Highclere was halted for the foreseeable future and with no warning ... It's the shock of it all and then picking oneself up to get through the practicalities while keeping our mental strength together — it is the same for all of us."