After he broke off an affair with one of the maids, the head of the Crawley family finally learned the truth about his daughter Mary, who was in a compromising position with one of their guests when the man died in her bed. He told Mary not to marry Richard, the fiancé she disliked, just to escape scandal.
Robert went to testify at the trial of his valet, Bates, who was charged with the murder of his wife, but was forced to share evidence about Bates, like the fact that he once said he wished his wife was dead. Robert had originally objected to the marriage of his youngest daughter, Sybil, to their former chauffeur, but he seems to be slowly coming around to the idea.
