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Revealed: The 30 guests to attend Prince Philip’s funeral

 (AFP via Getty Images)
(AFP via Getty Images)

The Duke of Edinburgh’s carriage-driving companion – one of his closest confidantes – Countess Mountbatten of Burma will join mourners at Philip’s funeral.

Buckingham Palace said the Queen faced “some very difficult” decisions as she selected the 30 guests permitted under Covid-19 rules, from the original 800-strong congregation, and had tried to ensure all branches of the duke’s family were there.

The 67-year-old countess – Penelope “Penny” Knatchbull, previously known as Lady Romsey and later Lady Brabourne – will join the monarch, the Queen and Philip’s four children and eight grandchildren and their respective spouses at the service in St George’s Chapel on Saturday.

Three German relatives – whose ancestors were denied a place at Princess Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding because of anti-German feeling after the second war – have been included.

Penelope Knatchbull, the then Lady Brabourne, now the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, will attend the duke’s funeral on SaturdayPA
Penelope Knatchbull, the then Lady Brabourne, now the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, will attend the duke’s funeral on SaturdayPA

They are Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden; Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse; and Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Countess Mountbatten is the wife of Earl Mountbatten, Norton Knatchbull – the grandson of Philip’s beloved uncle the 1st Earl Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979.

Philip first began teaching Penny the daredevil equestrian sport of carriage driving in 1994 and they remained firm friends for the rest of his life.

They were often pictured together at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, sometimes riding mini motorcycles around the carriage driving course.

She was a regular visitor at the duke’s Wood Farm cottage at Sandringham after his retirement.

Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, who is one of the 30 guests who will be in attendance at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at Windsor Castle on SaturdayPA
Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, who is one of the 30 guests who will be in attendance at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at Windsor Castle on SaturdayPA

Others on the guest list include the Queen’s first cousins Princess Alexandra, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent, who loyally supported the monarch and Philip by carrying out royal duties over the decades.

But missing from the list of the monarch’s cousins is Prince Michael of Kent, 78, who is not a working royal.

There was also not room for the spouses of the Queen’s cousins – the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Kent, nor Prince Michael’s often controversial wife, Princess Michael of Kent.

Also invited were 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.

Guests also include the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Princess Royal and husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their spouses, Peter Phillips and Zara and Mike Tindall.

The Earl of SnowdonPA
The Earl of SnowdonPA

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. ”

Also missing from the list is the Duchess of Sussex, who is pregnant with her second child was told by doctors not to fly, and the duke’s 10-great-grandchildren, who are all considered too young to attend.

Full guest list

1. The Queen

2. The Prince of Wales

3. The Duchess of Cornwall

4. The Duke of Cambridge

5. The Duchess of Cambridge

6. The Duke of Sussex

7. The Duke of York

8. Princess Beatrice

9. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

10. Princess Eugenie

11. Jack Brooksbank

12. The Earl of Wessex

13. The Countess of Wessex

14. Lady Louise Windsor

15. Viscount Severn

16. The Princess Royal

17. Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence

18. Peter Phillips

19. Zara Phillips

20. Mike Tindall

21. Earl of Snowdon

22. Lady Sarah Chatto

23. Daniel Chatto

24. Duke of Gloucester

25. Duke of Kent

26. Princess Alexandra

27. Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden

28. Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse

29. Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

30. The Countess Mountbatten of Burma

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