Among the 30 mourners, Duke’s close confidante Penny gets seat ... ahead of some of his near family
ONE of the Duke of Edinburgh’s closet confidantes will join family members at his funeral tomorrow.
Penny Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, is among a select group of only 30 mourners who will be allowed into St George’s Chapel.
The countess, 67, and Philip were friends for decades. She was also his regular carriage- driving companion, and the two used to compete together in four-in-hand championships all over the country.
She enjoyed such a close bond with the Queen and Philip that Palace staff reportedly nicknamed her ‘and also’, because no guest list was considered complete without her.
The countess, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne, was seen wearing black at the baptism of one of her grandchildren on Wednesday.
It took place at Romsey Abbey, near the family home, Broadlands – a 60room Palladian mansion in Hampshire where the Queen and Philip spent part of their honeymoon.
In a photograph taken outside afterwards, part of an order of service could be seen for the baptism of Alden Peter Theodore Mountbatten Hooper, one, the second child of the countess’s daughter Lady Alexandra Knatchbull, 38, and her husband Thomas Hooper.
A sheet could also be seen on which were printed two special prayers for the Duke of Edinburgh that were made available for services by church leaders following the announcement of his death a week ago. It is not known whether the prayers were said during the baptism.
The countess will attend tomorrow’s funeral along with the Queen and Philip’s four children and eight grandchildren and their respective spouses. All will wear face masks in line with coronavirus guidelines.
Among other guests are the Duchess of Cornwall, 73, and three of Philip’s German relatives – whose ancestors were denied a place at Philip’s wedding to the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947 because of
‘Very difficult decisions’
anti- German feeling after the second war. They are Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden; Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse; and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
The three men have been selfisolating in Ascot, as revealed in the Daily Mail yesterday.
They will be allowed to attend – as is Prince Harry, who travelled from the US – because of a provision in the law that allows mourners to leave quarantine on compassionate grounds.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen had faced ‘some very difficult’ decisions as she selected the 30 guests permitted under Covid-19 rules – in normal times there would have been an 800strong congregation – and had tried to ensure all branches of the duke’s family were there.
The guest list includes the Queen’s first cousins Princess Alexandra, 84, the Duke of Gloucester, 76, and the Duke of Kent, 85, who loyally supported the monarch and Philip by carrying out royal duties over the decades.
Also invited are the children of the Queen’s late sister Princess Margaret – the Earl of Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto and her husband David Chatto.
The Queen is particularly close to Lady Sarah. Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 56, who has been a great source of comfort for Her Majesty in recent days as she mourns Philip, will also attend.
She will be accompanied by the couple’s children, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 17 – who has embraced the pastimes associated with her grandfather, taking up carriage driving and starting her Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award – and James, Viscount Severn, 13.
It will be the first major royal funeral the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, has attended.
Princess Beatrice, 32 – the eldest daughter of the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York – who has a full-time job at Afiniti, an artificial intelligence software firm, will attend with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, a millionaire property tycoon who is the son of former Olympic skier Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi.
Princess Eugenie, 31, who gave birth to son August only weeks ago, will attend with husband Jack Brooksbank, who is European brand director of Casamigos Tequila, which was cofounded by the actor George Clooney. Their son has the middle name Philip in tribute to his great-grandfather.
The Duke of York, 61, will be making his first appearance at an official royal event since stepping down in 2019 from royal duties after his disastrous Newsnight interview about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Peter Phillips, 43, the eldest child of Princess Anne and her ex-husband Captain Mark Phillips, will play a key role, having been selected to stand between Prince William and Prince Harry in the funeral procession.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘At its heart it is still a family event. We are following the Covid guidelines.
‘There was a limit on who could be invited as a guest and Her Majesty wanted to ensure that all branches of the duke’s family were there, and had to make some very difficult decisions about who would be there.
‘For those that unfortunately can’t be there, I’m sure they will be making their own private arrangements about how they commemorate the duke, and indeed celebrate the duke.’
‘We are following Covid guidelines’