Penelope Meredith Mary Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (née Eastwood; born 16 April 1953) 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. He is a second cousin of King Charles III. Life and education Lord Mou ...

. Since 2010, she has served as High Steward of

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

Early life

Born in London, she is the only daughter of Reginald Wray Frank Eastwood (1912–1980), a butcher who became the founder of Angus Steakhouse, and Marian Elizabeth (1926–2020), née Hood. She had younger brother, Peter Eastwood (1955–2013). She grew up and was educated in Switzerland. In 1976, she graduated from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Activities

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

after he left the family to pursue an "amorous adventure" with fashion designer Jeannie Nuttall in the Bahamas. 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 Leonora Children's Cancer Fund 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 neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Since her marriage, Lady Mountbatten has been in close contact with the British royal family. She frequently attends the

Royal Windsor Horse Show The Royal Windsor Horse Show is a horse show held annually since 1943 for five days in May or June in Windsor Home Park.

as a guest of the royal family. She was particularly close to

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 ...

from the 1990s when they participated in

carriage driving Carriage driving is a form of competitive horse driving in harness in which larger two- or four-wheeled carriages (sometimes restored antiques) are pulled by a single horse, a pair, tandem or a four-in-hand team. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinb ...

competitions. She was one of only 30 mourners at his funeral on 17 April 2021 at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

. At her daughter's wedding in 2016,

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 ...

, then Prince of Wales, gave the bride away. With her daughter Lady Alexandra Hooper, Lady Mountbatten attended the

state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the List of monarchs in Britain by length of ...

on 19 September 2022.

Marriage and children

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 ...

, she married Lord Romsey, son and heir of the

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

and the

7th Lord 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 ...

. The groom's second cousin,

Charles, Prince of Wales 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, a ...

(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 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 ...

, by an IRA bomb. The family seat 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, ...

. 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 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

. 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 the family home,

. The charity Leonora Children's Cancer Fund was founded in her memory. From her marriage in 1979 until her father-in-law's death in 2005, she was styled as Lady Romsey and from then until her mother-in-law's death in 2017 as The Lady Brabourne.

In popular culture

Lady Mountbatten is portrayed by

Natascha McElhone Natascha Abigail Taylor (born 14 December 1971), known professionally as Natascha McElhone (), is an English actress. In film, she has starred in the action thriller ''Ronin (film), Ronin'' (1998), the psychological comedy-drama ''The Truman Sho ...

in the fifth season of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''. She first appears in episode one of season five and becomes more prominent as the season progresses, becoming a central part of the plot in episode six.

References

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

Penelope Knatchbull Penelope Meredith Mary Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (née Eastwood; born 16 April 1953) is a British aristocrat and the wife of Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Since 2010, she has served as High Steward of Romsey. ...

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...