Again, it’s been widely known for more than a year that The Crown Season 5 will feature a storyline involving Prince Philip and his “special friend” Penny Knatchbull. Their friendship/companionship lasted decades and Penny was clearly one of Philip’s favorites, if not his number one favorite. I believe they had a lengthy affair, but I also don’t believe that their relationship was solely based on sex. I mean, before the pandemic, Penny was basically caring for Philip at Wood Farm, looking after him like some kind of younger-wife/daughter hybrid. That’s about more than pure carnal lust, it was a loving relationship, I believe. Anyway, however The Crown portrays Philip and Penny, it will likely only skirt around their real love affair and friendship. Well, all of this has caused Ingrid Seward to storm around, defending Philip’s honor. Like everyone didn’t know for seventy years that Philip was a chronic philanderer with a special interest in leggy blondes. Some highlights from Seward’s rant:
On The Crown: Now the relationship between Philip and Penny is being dragged up once more in the upcoming series of The Crown and I’m sure speculation is rife. She was a beautiful woman, 31 years younger than Philip, someone who shared his interests and was regularly photographed with him. It’s enough tedious titillation for the storyline in a TV drama – and let me remind you, that’s exactly what The Crown is.
Their relationship was forged through tragedy: Penny Eastwood was the daughter of a very rich meat trader, the founder of the Angus Steakhouse chain, and married Norton Knatchbull, a cousin of Prince Charles and godson of Prince Philip – in 1979 She and the late Queen’s husband became particularly close after her five-year-old daughter Leonora died of kidney cancer in 1991 and soon her life descended further into chaos. During a period when her marriage was at rock bottom, Norton ran off with a bohemian fashion designer to the Bahamas. Penny was left to maintain her husband’s vast estate and 18th-century Broadlands home, which had 60 rooms and a monument to remember their late daughter on its grounds.
How their friendship blossomed: Running royal properties was something Philip knew full well and having bonded with her over horses and carriage driving, their friendship blossomed further. While driving around sprawling country estates, Philip liked to discuss religion and other deep, worldly matters. I’m sure Penny, who was educated in Switzerland and the London School of Economics, would have indulged his curious mind.
What they discussed: Philip would have been her confidante during those dark times but I highly doubt he would ever have discussed his own marriage with her – or anyone. But we do know he discussed the then-Prince Charles’ crumbling marriage with Princess Diana.
A secret phone call: Penny was described as a “plummy voiced woman” in a secret phone recording between her, her husband and Philip in 1996, which fired up the rumour mill and I suspect this is what Netflix will look to portray.
The Queen approved: Ultimately, I’m certain the late Queen would have approved of their friendship. She never minded her husband being around pretty women. I don’t believe she had a jealous bone in her body. She trusted him and wanted him to be entertained while she fulfilled her pledge to devote her life to public service. Questions may be raised about Philip’s other female ‘friendships’, but I’m certain nothing would have happened with Penny. She was a regular guest at the Queen’s events and at one point served as a monitor on the world for the Royal Family to understand important issues to the public.
A symbiotic relationship: Personally, I believe Philip and Penny had a somewhat symbiotic relationship. He was almost a grandfather figure, someone able to advise and counsel her during difficult times. And Penny gave him company and mentally engaged him during lonely moments that could only be understood when married to the monarch. There’s no doubt in my mind, I’m certain she was never his mistress, yet in a rather macabre way, I imagine Philip would have found talk of such a scandal very flattering.
Yeah, we don’t need a description of why Philip would fall for Penny – she was beautiful and young. The question is, why did Penny go for Philip? As I said, I believe that their relationship was about a lot more than sex. The whole thing about how the Queen liked Penny is weird too, because it’s true, Penny was close to QEII as well. I would guess that’s because Penny “knew her place” and she wasn’t trying to cause any disruptions for Philip. Just because QEII accepted and liked Penny, doesn’t mean that Philip never banged Penny. Anyway, poor Penny. At least she got a lot of money from Philip’s will, at least that’s what I’ve assumed this whole time.
PS… I bet King Charles is very happy that people are freaking out about this storyline on The Crown and not his tampon phone call or how he gaslighted Diana.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid, Getty.
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- The Duke of Edinburgh attends a reception for winners of The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 513778764, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- (170803) — LONDON, Aug 2, 2017 () — Britain’s Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, reacts as he attends a parade in the role of Royal Marines’ Captain General for the last time at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain on Aug. 2, 2017. Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, carries out his final solo public engagement Wednesday before he retires from royal duties. (/Pool) -UK OUT-,Image: 513992572, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS excluding China- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: han yan / Avalon
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- 137343, Lady Penny Brabourne takes part in the Laurent-Perrier Meet of the British Driving Society on the final day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Windsor, United Kingdom – Sunday May 17, 2015. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 531459500, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- 137343, Lady Penny Brabourne takes part in the Laurent-Perrier Meet of the British Driving Society on the final day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Windsor, United Kingdom – Sunday May 17, 2015. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 531459519, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- 167763, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visit Canada House in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. The Queen and Duke viewed artifacts and displays celebrating Canada 150, including items from the Royal Archives and from the National Maritime Museum’s exhibition Death in the Ice, which explores Sir John Franklin’s final Arctic expedition. London, United Kingdom – Wednesday July 19, 2017. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: Ã?© Pete Maclaine/i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 533138441, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- Windsor, UNITED KINGDOM – Queen Elizabeth II at Day Two of the Royal Windsor Horse Show 2022, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, UK. Pictured: Lady Penelope Romsey, Queen, Queen Elizabeth II BACKGRID USA 13 MAY 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Memorial Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey Featuring: Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma Where: London, United Kingdom When: 29 Mar 2022 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I have always wondered if Penny was not his girlfriend, but his daughter.
@laylabeans: Interesting …
The ages work, and Philip had a wandering willy. I could see him reuniting with a daughter in adulthood, especially after the loss of her own child and her husband leaving her. And, DNA testing was available around the time they became close.
Elizabeth’s clear affection for her makes me think this, too. I can’t think of a circumstance where a mistress would be so welcomed at such a public funeral (especially one people were watching closely thanks to Will and Harry) and in a family so wrapped up in appearances.
Penny married Phillip’s godson, so she was a daughter figure to him within the family.
I think she is just a daughter figure and not a mistress. This is the one time it seems innocent. The RF would have worked harder to hide her, smear her or distance themselves otherwise.
Why? She’s still married, no aspirations there. She’s quiet and discreet, she respects the Queen, and Philip may have put his foot down. All signs have pointed to it for years and I believe if Morgan is confirming it, it’s definitely true.
*snort*
Philip has an actual daughter, who adored him, publicly and privately.
But sure, let’s all pretend Philip had a deep desire for a daughter figure, in his life.
Nope she wasn’t in the royal circle till after her marriage. She came from a regular but wealthy family. She was absolutely a mistress. Phil had mistresses his whole married life. There’s a lot of rewriting of history going on.
Her daughter is a dead ringer for willileaks but she’s a Mountbatten too so it could be those genes.
I think so too; IMO it’s the only possibility that squares with the queen’s obvious acceptance of and affection towards her. Charles also walked Penny’s daughter Alexandra down the aisle – would he have done that for the daughter of his father’s mistress? I mean, maybe, this family is certainly messy like that, but it seems way more likely that he’d do that for his half-sister’s daughter rather than a mistress.
Agreed. I just can’t see a mistress being so openly welcomed for so long by so many. I mean, can you see George walking Rose’s daughter (implying she is Will’ds kid in this scenario) down the aisle in the future and Kate being cool with it? Or if Charles and Diana stayed together, she and Camilla being chummy at his funeral?
Yes. I’ve leaned/posted previously (last year?) in this theory.Don’t have a dog in this one way or another other than my opinion. It’s not true that Penny didn’t move in royal circles until after her marriage(1979). There are pictures of her with Charles from ’74/’75. It is said that it’s due to her dating Norton. It’s interesting that it’s hard to find when she started dating him or when they met. Or, was she introduced to the royal circle via Charles to meet Norton and to quietly become part of the royal circle.
It’s also hard to find pictures of Reginald & Marian Eastwood. Might be bad searching on my part. There is one group wedding photo a poster here shared (not sure if the Eastwood’s are identified in it), in which, everyone is looking forward except Philip. He seems to be looking at Penny with a certain amount of pride.imo
She was definitely a mistress, not some daughter. Chuck and co are fine with mistresses, that’s why they were so upset by Diana being angry about Camilla, Tiggy, and Kanga. I think QE2 was cool with her bc she didn’t want to have to fulfill Phil’s sexual requests, especially since she seemed so unhappy pregnant and was really upset about having Eddie.
The speculation regarding Penny being Phil’s daughter, was debunked by those in-the-know in a previous thread on CB. Just because some posters can’t wrap their heads around the openness of Penny’s presence in Phil’s life, does not mean an affair (accepted by the Queen) wasn’t happening between them!
Furthermore, despite Penny’s well-known presence amongst the Windsor inner circles, her relationship with Phil was kept very much under-the-radar publicly. It wasn’t until recent years with the increased scrutiny on the British royals, that the Penny/ Philip relationship began to be gossiped about more widely.
Mini@Sunday said:
“IMO it’s the only possibility that squares with the queen’s obvious acceptance of and affection towards her.”
In your mind that’s “the only possibility that squares.” You can’t speak for how the Queen actually felt privately about any of this. What we do know however, is that Phil and Penny shared a very close relationship, which the Queen accepted. Why the Queen accepted the relationship could be due to any number of reasons. Perhaps the Queen and Philip were past having any sexual ardor for each other, but they still respected and liked one another. In that case, the Queen may have been happy for Philip and Penny, especially due to the deep emotional distress Penny had suffered in losing her daughter.
@KFG, I have never heard that the Queen disliked having children. Maybe her pregnancies were uncomfortable, but I never heard that she disliked carrying either of her younger two sons who were conceived after she had reconciled with Philip, post years of him adjusting to feeling emasculated when she inherited the throne. Plus, AFAIK, Edward has never been called ‘Eddie.’ Do you have knowledge that he’s called by that nickname?
@Layla Beans – I have read the exact same theory on Penny in several different places. It makes quite of bit of sense it the theory is true.
I agree with you. I think she was his daughter. Look at the nose, the shape of the chin. The Queen may have tolerated his affairs but I don’t see her making a friend of the other woman, but as Phillip’s daughter, it explains why the queen was nice to her and why she was allowed to be at the funeral.
I can see her accepting Penny. Peep the earrings 👀👀👀👀
C, I’m intermittently obsessed with these earrings. So far, I’ve seen them —in pictures — on Queen Mary, the Queen, Princess Anne, Kate, the daintier pair that the Queen gave Meghan, and now Penny. I wonder who else has — or had them. Did Diana? Camilla? The Order of the Earrings?
Agree @Athena.
^^ @Athena, the fact that you feel Penny and Phil have a resemblance does not mean she’s his daughter. It’s actually not unusual for two people having an intimate couple relationship to facially resemble each other. In any case, we don’t know many details, except that they were very close. I suspect that after Phil helped Penny through a difficult time emotionally, they fell deeply in love and went on to share many interests in common, not the least being intellectual curiosity, along with carriage riding.
The theory doesn’t work because she (and her parents) only came into the royal circle after her marriage. If her mother would have been somehow connected to prince Phillip, there would have been some evidence. Unless you suspect that he had a random one night encounter with a butchers wife (Penelope’s father was a butcher who became a Selfmade millionaire but only after her birth, so at the time she was conceived her mother wasn’t even the wife of a rich man, just an ordinary butchers wife) and then the butcher unexpectedly became rich, was able to send his daughter to good schools and then she randomly married the cousin of her half brothers and sisters and therefore became part of her bio fathers family.
IMO it makes even more sense that way. I mean, you don’t think Phillip would be interested in a one-off with a random lady? I absolutely do. It’s totally plausible that Phillip had a chance encounter (happens all the time), and made the decision to buy the family’s silence. Penelope’s father didn’t “become a self-made millionaire” out of happenstance, the family was paid to keep quiet about the circumstances of Penelope’s birth. Then, once she’s of-age they bring her into the royal fold by arranging her marriage to a royal cousin so that Phillip can continue to provide for her and interact with her under the guise of family connection. Obviously the arrangement failed and her husband ran off, but at that point the connection was already established and could still be used for cover. IDK, I think it’s totally possible.
I don’t think there is anyway in which prince Phillip could have secretly found a way to make a steakhouse chain an unexpected success. The wealth of Penelope’s family and how it came about is documented.
I’m just chiming in to say that we ate at an Angus steakhouse in London this past summer so now I feel super connected to this story 😂😂
@Lena, not true from my research. I haven’t found any evidence that Penny’s parents were introduced to the royal family after her 1979 marriage. Could be wrong. As said previously, there are pictures of Penny with Charles from ’74/’75. Uhmmm..not sure where anyone said that Philip made the Aberdeen/Angus Steakhouse a success. Seed money may have been provided. The steakhouse was founded about ten years after Penny’s birth. Reginald supposedly had 2 partners in the founding of the steak houses.
@Sunday, agree. imo, it was a sleeping beauty situation. Penny was given to outsiders to raise due to a delicate royal situation. As much as Penny has similarities in facial features to Philip…she also has relatively strong features to a very royal/regal looking female relative of the BRF.imo
I don’t discount that theory. May explain Liz’s acceptance. But to be rumored to be in a relationship with your own dad is just too much. Even a rumor – makes me want to shower and throw up. Gross. They have very thick skins regardless.
Oooh. That makes so much sense. And given that it would make her both cousin and sister to Charles, is just about the juiciest plot line ever. The Crown can’t give us dragons but can give us family webs.
That would explain hiding the contents of the will.
I never thought of that one! Hats off to you!
I don’t think so. They were together a lot in ways that ping me as strange for a daughter. And Morgan knows what’s going on in those circles. And she wouldn’t need to be his daughter for him to include her in the will, which is another possible explanation for it being sealed.
I think she was the most emotionally long-standing mistress at a time of both his and the queen’s lives when they stopped caring about living separately. It’s not like this affair started when Elizabeth and Philip were both young. And Elizabeth was raised in the old way – don’t forget how Queen Alexandra, who disliked her husband Edward VII’s philandering, was still pretty magnanimous to Mrs. Keppel.
What’s funny though is you really can’t say one way or another by looking at her. It’s already a pretty small gene pool.
It’s a small gene pool but not that small since she wasn’t born royally-adjacent. She’s definitely the most attractive of the bunch and if you look at photos of her with young Charles et al she doesn’t resemble any of them at all.
I think if she was an illegitimate child of his there’s no way they would have allowed her to be around him so much and so visibly. Mistresses are one thing, something that male consorts have almost always had, but illegitimate children are another thing entirely in terms of controversy, particularly when there is a line of succession involved so closely.
Oooh I read that wrong. She married a cousin she wasn’t born a cousin. Some days my brain can’t distinguish RF gossip from HoTD.
That’s the sole reason I find talking about this relationship to be a little salacious. It’s hard to discuss it as an affair when it might be father-daughter relationship. The royals have plenty of things wrong with themselves, but Trumpian father-daughter relations doesn’t appear to be one of them.
Wow that never occurred to me but that is a definite possibility. It makes more sense than the mistress relationship too.
^^ I don’t see how you think it makes more sense as a father-daughter hidden relationship! It doesn’t.
Once I saw it, I can’t unsee it!!
You just blew my mind a little. Whoa.
lolz. like honestly, they are most dumb rich people with too much time on their hands. of course they’re having affairs? I would be surprised if they weren’t. and honestly it doesn’t matter and we shouldn’t care, but because they don’t do anything of substance, this is all they give people to talk about. (also of course the media ecoystem likes this crap, and they have fed and helped create a media ecosystem and lives on this stuff).
The only thing that keeps this up in the air for me is that I just can’t imagine having sex with someone who’s that much older than me.
@Wilma I totally agree but Pr Philip always kept fit and looked younger than he was until a few years before he died. Compare a photo of him at 73 with one of Charles…..it’s crazy.
In my humble opinion, the fact that Elizabeth liked and accepted Penny, and Penny wasn’t a disruptive force blabbing to the tabs AND apparently Elizabeth knew Phil had to be “entertained” while she was off queening…..yeah it was a long term affair with full knowledge and acceptance/approval of all parties involved.
If it was an affair and and not as speculated above, sounds like it played by all the rules. No drama to see here folks.
Symbiosis is a relationship (not always beneficial) between individuals of different species.
LMFAO!
Philip chased a girl 31 yrs his junior. Yuck!
Penny gets invites and preferential treatment because (1) Philip and QEII were divorced in all but name for decades and (2) Penny kept her mouth shut.
If they weren’t having sex, then she was still basically his mistress in all other aspects. I would never say my husband needs to be “entertained” by another woman while I’m working. What a strange way to put it and its not making the point that Ingrid thinks its making.
Its clear though that the queen accepted her and was okay with this bc Penny was invited to the funeral. I also think she got a lot from his will.
Yes, it’s still an emotional attachment which to me would be worse. If all he needed was companions with the same interests, he could join clubs or find a male chum. When he and Penny became friends he was still a “working” royal so why would he have needed someone to pal around with? Didn’t all that royal “work” and family keep him busy?
I have a friend who is seriously old, er, older. We get on together. For many years, our habit is to talk and/or see each other almost every day, even if only for a few minutes. Sometimes we hang out with his wife. Sometimes I hang out with his wife without him. It’s possible to have an intimate friend and not have sex, or ever want to, with that friend
Sure. But if you were ill, would you forbid other members of your family to come to your sickroom and only allow your friend there? That’s what Philip did a few times with Penny, near the end of his life. Their situation was pretty obvious.
@C, I don’t know, maybe. Situations of time and space matter. So maybe.
Sometimes it’s easier to be so vulnerable, embarrassed, debilitated, declining with someone who isn’t your child or spouse. If there is a friend who can be there to comfort without fear of judgment that can be a blessing. I’m not sure wanting privacy when ill or dying has to do with who loves or trusts most. Someone might not want their kin to see them shit themselves…
I’m not saying Philip asked for her to be the one to care for him. I’m saying Philip said he didn’t even want his family to *visit*. Because by the end the norm was for him and Penny to be alone together.
@C, Becks1, bringing this back to the originating thought, it’s possible to be close without being a/the mistress or whatever epithet implying moral deficit. Sometimes people are friends.
Regarding final moments, meh. I’ve seen enough sickness and death to know, how someone chooses to manage their dying isn’t how I would necessarily choose for myself. It isn’t even how I might choose for them. When someone is competent to choose for themselves though, that’s it
I can see all that, but in the case of Philip I think it’s just Occam’s Razor. He was never faithful to the Queen, and of course as they grew apart Penny was his real partner.
Yes but does your friend have a well known history of having affairs with women who look like you?
It’s blatantly obvious that Penny was Philip’s girlfriend.
Tell the world they were longtime lovers/companions/friends without actually coming out and telling the world they were longtime lovers/companions/friends.
If QE2 knew/suspected and it didn’t bother HER (or seem to) then Seward stomping around and acting all huffy only adds to the circus and she should just sit down and STFO
^^ Totally agree @MerlinsMom1018! Exactly!
Symbiotic relationship? Is that another name for entanglement?
Royalists blaming Netflix is funny to me. NO ONE would even know Penny’s name if the Daily Mail hadn’t run their wink-nudge articles/headlines.
I generally think Ingrid Seward is absolutely bonkers. (If you think Kate is SWF-ing Diana now, check out Ingrid in the 80s, it’s chilling.) But like the proverbial broken clock, she is revealing two truths in this article. 1) The Queen wasn’t very bright or well-educated and couldn’t keep up with Philip’s conversational interests and 2) Philip definitely had affairs. (“Questions may be raised about Philip’s other female ‘friendships.’”)
We all assumed both of these things already, but I’ve never seen it stated so boldly in British media. I was once told that Rupert Murdoch was only waiting for the Queen’s death to start spilling decades worth of tea, and I think we’ve just witnessed the first pour. ☕️
It’s crazy that Penny is only 8 years older than Princess Diana.
I love the ppl that said, there’s no way a mistress would be welcomed the way Penny has. Camilla played the role of “wife” at parties Charles went to where Diana was not present esp those in the countryside. Yes they were accepted by their friends but if i”m not mistaken, Charles’ siblings attended, too. They only got uncomfortable when the rumors were public.
Penny could be his daughter but I don’t think so. Philip was never a hands on parent and she is around the same age as Philip’s children with TQ. I do think Penny was his mistress but it was more love than physical towards the end. I think TQ liked her as a person b/c she knew her place and would never try to “take Philip away” – they “shared him’ in a sense. Notice when TQ was with Penny, Penny always observed protocol, always walked behind TQ, never initiated conversation unless TQ did first. One of the things ppl need to get is that TQ and Philip were married so long but that doesn’t mean they were in love the entire time. Lastly, there’s a reason Philip’s will was sealed for 90 years and the reason was not just privacy but primarily to “protect royal dignity” according to TQ’s lawyers.
I agree with this. This cirlce was hobnobbing with their mistresses for years and Elizabeth was happy to leave Philip to his own affairs in the later years.
There’s no way I can see them welcoming an illegitimate child in their midst to this level of publicity.
So the Queen and Penny were sister wives LOL?
@QuiteContrary – pretty much!
Philip was very hands on with his kids. That’s why many people think Andrew isn’t his. He is amused by penny like he is with Anne.
“She trusted him and wanted him to be entertained while she fulfilled her pledge to devote her life to public service.”
Umm… correct me if I’m wrong. But isn’t that the same sentence they used for Wails being okay with her husband being entertained when she wasn’t around? Just platonic dinners folks, you know….
The article that was removed very quickly 🤔
Lord, I want to do a seance and ask my Granny, who knew them all. She would know! (She was a contemporary of the Queen Mum.)
Penny was born April 16, 1953. Using the internet, her conception date was July 25,1952. Prince Philip was attending the Helsinki Finland summer Olympics from July 19 to Aug 3, 1952.
@Julia K. That’s great investigative reporting!!
This is the kind of investigative powers I came here for!
Penny’s family were not in that circle. She’s absolutely his mistress /confidant. He didn’t schlep with regular folk. It was post her marriage.
Cool bit of context, but unfortunately that’s too narrow of a window to prove anything. Conception dates just aren’t that precise. “Full-term” babies can be born anytime between 36 and 40 weeks gestation, and they can also come early or late, like 42 weeks or more … we don’t know if Baby Penny was born early, late or right on time, but in order to definitively rule out Philip fathering her based on no chance of contact with her mother, we’d need to show they were apart for a couple of *months* during summer 1952.
Correcting my own typo: full term babies are anywhere from the beginning of week *39* to the end of week 40, with a few weeks’ range on either side of that for babies that arrive early or late – apologies for the error! But the basic point is still that it’s too hard to pin down a conception date with enough precision to know for sure it was during the Helsinki Olympics. (Also, especially with female babies, fertilization can happen several days after the parents have sex. Sperm carrying X-chromosomes survive longer than the ones with Y-chromosomes and can still cause a pregnancy days after the initial encounter.)
It’s also assuming that the reported date of Penny’s birth is a fact. We don’t know for sure. On one hand, the peerage site says it, they also don’t mention that Penny supposedly has a brother. Ancestry.com does not list Penny as a daughter to Reginald & Marian (checked again a few minutes ago). They do show Peter as a son.
It’s obvious there was a great affection between the P’s. It should/maybe be noted that there is a 10 year age difference between Anne & Andrew.
Outside of my personal theory of Penny’s relationship to Philip. I now want to know if Philip met Armi Kuusela after her Miss Universe win in 1952.
“While driving around sprawling country estates, Philip liked to discuss religion and other deep, worldly matters.” —LMAO
Lord save from having to take care of a dirty old man.
*save me
Yeah, she and Phil were driving the horses discussing the nature of God with applicable proofs. Other days were spent rambling round the acreage delving into moral philosophy, utilitarianism, the calculus of felicity, and the quality of pleasure. Pen, having attended LSE, was able to put an academic spin to Phil’s school of practical knowledge. Always, they ended their conversations and parted reciting with Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds/ Admit impediments.
Hilariously brilliant and brilliantly hilarious!
“It’s enough tedious titillation for the storyline in a TV drama – and let me remind you, that’s exactly what The Crown is.”
Right….
That’s why Penny was at Prince Philip’s ACTUAL funeral. The one where the queen sat alone, and the rest of the royal family was seated so they didn’t breathe on anyone who didn’t live in their house.
To be clear, I don’t have a problem with Penny and Philip as a thing, clearly Lilibet didn’t either. I have a gigantic problem with the British media not coming to grips with the truth, which has been apparent for a fcuking long time. The more you come up with these stories that there’s nothing to see here, the more people are going to see.
Not only was Penny at the funeral of Philip, but Princess Alexandra was there as well. I am old enough to remember the long term affair rumors. She was the Queens first cousin and Philip’s second cousin.
Interesting idea, that she was a daughter.
Hmm.
This family is a hot mess like a long running soap opera. lol
If they were not hoarding such huge wealth the while the “common man” struggles to survive, I’d think kinder of them.
I hope H&M and kids are comfy and happy these days. That’s all.
So what if she was his mistress? Who would believe a man like Phillip won’t have a bit on the side, they were also in-laws so lots of access. The BM need to relax and stop falling over themselves painting a fake picture of this family
I’ve always assumed Elizabeth and Philip had an issue in their marriage in the 1950s because they had kids in 1948 and 1950 and then they took a break until 1960. Meanwhile, Penelope was born in 1953 and my goodness she looks a lot like Philip.