Norton Louis Philip Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born 8 October 1947), known until 2005 as Lord Romsey and until 2017 as the Lord Brabourne, is a

British peer A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British hono ...

. He is a second cousin of King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

Life and education

Lord Mountbatten was born at King's College Hospital in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as the eldest son of Patricia Knatchbull, Mountbatten, later 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and

John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, (9 November 1924 – 23 September 2005), professionally known as John Brabourne, was a British peer, television producer and Oscar-nominated film producer. Married to the elder daughter of 1st Earl ...

. Mountbatten was educated at the

Dragon School The Dragon School is a private school across two sites in Oxford, England. The Dragon Pre-Prep (children aged 4–7) and Prep School (children aged 8–13) are both co-educational schools. The Dragon Prep School was founded in 1877 as the Oxfo ...

, in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and

Gordonstoun School Gordonstoun School ( ) is an elite co-educational private school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including Prince Philip and his son King Charles III. Musician Davi ...

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

, Scotland. He subsequently attended the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

in southeast England. He followed his father into the British film industry in the 1970s, working as location manager on '' A Bridge Too Far'' and associate producer of ''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at ...

'' and the television serial '' Quatermass''. On the death of his father on 23 September 2005, he became the 8th Baron Brabourne, of

Brabourne Brabourne is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The village centre is east of Ashford town centre. Geography The village originated around the village church and this area is now usually referred to as E ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

, in the

peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. He also succeeded to the Knatchbull Baronetcy, of Mersham Hatch in the County of Kent, in the

baronetage of England Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. On the death of his mother on 13 June 2017, he became

Earl Mountbatten of Burma Earl Mountbatten of Burma is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1947 for Rear Admiral Louis Mountbatten, who in 1946 had been created the first Viscount Mountbatten of Burma. He was later promoted to Admiral of the Fleet. ...

, also a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom created for his grandfather,

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Lord Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy off ...

. He is a descendant of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, whose second daughter

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom Princess Alice (Alice Maud Mary; 25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878) was Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine from 13 June 1877 until her death in 1878 as the wife of Grand Duke Louis IV. She was the third child and second daughter of Queen ...

was his maternal great-great-grandmother. He is also a second cousin to

, through his mother and Charles' father,

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, who was his godfather. Mountbatten is the godfather of Philip's grandson, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. He is also related to author

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

, as his father,

, was a direct descendant of her brother

Edward Austen Knight Edward Austen Knight (born Edward Austen; 7 October 1767 – 19 November 1852) was the third eldest brother of Jane Austen, and provided their mother with the use of a cottage in Chawton where Jane lived for the last years of her life (now Jane ...

Marriage and children

Mountbatten is married to Penelope Meredith Eastwood (born 16 April 1953), a daughter of Reginald Wray Frank Eastwood (1912–1980), a self-made millionaire former butcher who founded the Angus Steakhouse chain, and Marian Elizabeth (1926–2020), née Hood. They were wed on 20 October 1979 at

Romsey Abbey Romsey Abbey is the name currently given to a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was the church of a Benedictine Order, Benedictine nunnery. The surv ...

, less than two months after the IRA murdered his 79-year-old maternal grandfather,

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

; his 14-year-old younger brother, Nicholas Knatchbull; and his 83-year-old paternal grandmother, Doreen Knatchbull, Dowager Lady Brabourne. The family home is

Broadlands Broadlands is a country house located in the civil parish of Romsey Extra, near the town of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its formal gardens and historic landscape are Grade II* listed on the Register of Histori ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. The 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife have three children and three grandchild: * Nicholas Louis Charles Norton Knatchbull, Lord Brabourne (born 15 May 1981), his father's

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

; married Ambre Pouzet on 20 May 2021 at Broadlands. They have one son: ** The Hon. Alexander Knatchbull (born June 2022) * Lady Alexandra Victoria Edwina Diana Hooper (''née'' Knatchbull; born 5 December 1982); a goddaughter of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

. She married Thomas Edward Huntly Hooper on 25 June 2016, at

. They have two sons: ** Inigo Norton Sebastian Mountbatten Hooper (born 21 December 2017) ** Alden Peter Theodore Mountbatten Hooper (born 27 March 2020) * The Hon. Leonora Louise Marie Elizabeth Knatchbull (25 June 1986 – 22 October 1991). She died of

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

at the age of five years and is buried in the grounds of Broadlands. The charity Leonora Children's Cancer Fund was founded in her memory. From 2010 to 2014, Mountbatten was in an extramarital relationship with Eugenie, Lady Nuttall, widow of Sir Nicholas Nuttall, 3rd Baronet, who was heir to the Edmund Nuttall Limited construction company.

Arms

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* Marlene A. Eilers, ''Queen Victoria's Descendants'' (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987), page 184.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountbatten of Burma, Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl 1947 births Living people Nobility from London People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Gordonstoun Alumni of the University of Kent English people of German-Jewish descent Earls Mountbatten of Burma 8 Norton Norton Ashley-Cooper family