Penelope Meredith Mary Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (née Eastwood; born 16 April 1953), known between 1979 and 2005 as Lady Romsey and between 2005 and 2017 as The Lady Brabourne, is a British aristocrat and the wife of

Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma 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. Life and education Lord Mountbatten was born in Lambeth as the eldest ...

. Since 2010, she has served as High Steward of

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

Early life

Born in London, she is the only daughter of Reginald Eastwood (1912–1980), founder of

Angus Steakhouse Angus Steakhouse is a restaurant chain of steak houses in central London. In 2001, there were about 30 outlets; five remain open as of July 2020. The name reflects Aberdeen Angus, a common breed of beef cattle. Some restaurants still retain th ...

, and Marian Hood (1926–2020). She had one younger brother, Peter Eastwood (1955–2013). She grew up and was educated in Switzerland. In 1976, she graduated from the London School of Economics.

Marriage and children

On 20 October 1979 at Romsey Abbey, she married Lord Romsey, son and heir of the

2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma Patricia Edwina Victoria Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Lady Brabourne, (née Mountbatten; 14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) was a British peeress and a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She was the elder daughter of Admiral ...

and the 7th Lord Brabourne. The groom's second cousin, Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), served as best man. The wedding took place two months after the assassination of her husband's grandfather, the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, by an IRA bomb. The family seat is Broadlands, Hampshire. Lady Mountbatten and her husband have three children and three grandchildren: * Nicholas Louis Charles Norton Knatchbull, Lord Brabourne (born 15 May 1981), his father's heir apparent; married Ambre Pouzet on 20 May 2021 at Broadlands. They have one child: ** The Hon. Alexander Knatchbull (born June 2022) * Lady Alexandra Victoria Edwina Diana Hooper (''née'' Knatchbull; born 5 December 1982); married Thomas Edward Huntly Hooper on 25 June 2016, at Romsey Abbey. They have two children: ** 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 at the age of five years and is buried in the grounds of the family home, Broadlands. The charity

Leonora Children's Cancer Fund The Leonora Children's Cancer Fund was a British registered charity that was registered on 14 September 1994. It was, until 11 March 2010, registered charity number 1040757, when it was removed from the register following its merger with The Edw ...

was founded in her memory.

Activities

In 2010, she succeeded her husband in the honorary position of High Steward of

after he stepped down due to illness. The position had previously been filled by the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. She was inaugurated on 2 March 2011. Following the death of her daughter, she founded

which in 2010 merged with The Edwina Mountbatten Trust, founded in memory of Leonora's great-grandmother. The merged charities were renamed The Edwina Mountbatten and Leonora Children's Foundation on 20 February 2014. She has taken on the running of Broadlands following her husband's diagnosis with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Since her marriage, Lady Mountbatten has been in close contact with the British royal family. She frequently attends the Royal Windsor Horse Show as a guest of the royal family. She was particularly close to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh from the 1990s when they participated in carriage driving competitions. She was one of only 30 mourners at his funeral on 17 April 2021 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. At her daughter's wedding in 2016, the Prince of Wales gave the bride away. With her daughter Lady Alexandra Hooper, Lady Mountbatten attended the

state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...

on 19 September 2022.

In popular culture

Lady Mountbatten is portrayed by Natascha McElhone in the fifth season of the Netflix series '' The Crown''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountbatten of Burma, Penelope Knatchbull, Countess of 1953 births Living people British countesses People from London Alumni of the London School of Economics Penelope Knatchbull