The character from The Crown that everyone is talking about

Where does Penny suddenly come from?

Season 5 of The Crown came as a gift. Okay, perhaps not very appropriate for the family itself to serve this season so soon after the Queen's passing, but for them, this whole series was never a party anyway. I really wanted to sit down for it, so I only pressed ‘play’ last night. It took a moment to get used to the new actors, or as my daughter said: ‘The previous ones were really better made.’ Dominic West is of course a much too handsome Charles, but it's enjoyable to watch. The new Elizabeth is quite prim, I think I will like Philip, and Diana, well, I feel a bit too many rehearsed traits like the rolling of her eyes. But the giraffe-like figure is very close to reality. Anyway. What fascinated me immediately was the character Penny, the mother of five-year-old Leonora who dies of kidney cancer.

Who is this woman and why is she being featured now?
Penny Knatchbull is not just anyone. She was a friend of Charles, but becomes very close with Prince Philip. So close that she is one of the thirty guests at his funeral, which was so thinned out due to corona.

Surely of noble descent to get so close to the family?
Her father was a wealthy entrepreneur. Penelope Meredith Mary Eastwood is the daughter of Reginald Eastwood, who is the man who founded Angus Steakhouse. When she married, she became of noble descent. Her husband Norton Knatchbull, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, catapulted her into high nobility. Charles was a witness at their wedding and became a dear friend.

How did her relationship with Philip become so close?
When their daughter Leonora passed away, Philip came by to cheer her up a bit. He talked about his love for horse riding, and she gave him an old, neglected carriage. Philip completely restored it and took her for a ride. Eventually, she became his partner during competitions, and in that way, he took away some of the pain from the grief of her deceased daughter.

The role is also wonderfully portrayed by Natascha McElhone. For me, a compensation for the somewhat stiff other new cast members I have to get used to.