Season 5 of The Crown introduced multiple new characters, including young Leonora Knatchbull, the great-granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten, who died of kidney cancer at the age of 5 in 1991. Leonora’s passing, funeral, and the immediate aftermath were included as a key plot point of season 5, episode 2. Like her life, her story on The Crown was short-lived and heartbreaking but had a great impact on the royal family and viewers alike.
Leonora Knatchbull was the third child born to Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Norton was the firstborn grandson of Lord Mountbatten, whose assassination was depicted in The Crown season 4. Lord Mountbatten was Prince Philip’s beloved uncle, so naturally, he was named Norton’s godfather. As Prince Charles’ second cousin, born just a year apart, Norton and Charles became close friends, as depicted in season 5, episode 1 when their families go on vacation together. Through Charles, Diana also became close to the Knatchbulls, and Leonora’s death after 14 months of battling kidney cancer was shown to have an emotional impact on Charles, Diana, and Philip.
How Accurate Is The Crown’s Depiction Of Leonora’s Story?
.jpg)
Leonora was diagnosed with kidney cancer 14 months before her October 1991 death after falling ill on vacation in Spain with other members of the royal family, including Charles and Diana. In August 1991, a year after Leonora was diagnosed, she was in remission and the family joined the royals on vacation once again. This vacation with Charles and Diana was a focus of season 5, episode 1 of The Crown. In the episode, Diana expresses sympathy for the family’s hardships when learning they will be joining them on vacation, and refers to Leonora as her goddaughter. In actuality, Diana was not Leonora’s godmother, but rather the godmother of her elder sister Alexandra, while Charles is the godfather to their son Nicholas. Still, they had a close relationship, and Diana was reported to be one of Leonora’s final visitors in the hospital days before her passing.
When viewers are introduced to Leonora, she was in remission, just as she was in real life. However, her cancer would return, and she would soon pass just two months after the Italy trip in 1991, the year that starts the timeline of The Crown season 5. Following her funeral in season 5, episode 2, Philip decides to visit his godson Norton following his loss. However, Norton is not home, and Philip ends up spending time with his wife Penny instead. Penny brings him to Leonora’s burial place on the family’s estate, just as it was in real life. Philip suggests that Penny create a charity in Leonora’s name, something Penny says she is already planning on doing. In 1994, the Leonora Children’s Cancer Fund was founded to fund specially trained nurses who help look after children with childhood cancer. In The Crown, Penny said she wanted to create a charity specifically for the nurses because of how good they were to her and Leonora during her time in the hospital.
What Happened To Penny Knatchbull After Leonora’s Death
.jpeg)
As shown in season 5 of The Crown, Prince Philip and Penny Knatchbull became close friends following Leonora’s death. The series implies that they may have had an affair, which has been speculated for years, but there is no evidence of such a relationship. In the biography Prince Philip Revealed, Penny was referred to as his “keeper of secrets.” When he passed away in 2021, there were only 30 guests allowed to attend Prince Philip’s funeral because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Penny being one of them. She was also in attendance at Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral in September. Penny, now 69 years old, remains married to Norton, though in 2010, he left the family estate, Broadlands, to have an affair in the Bahamas with Lady Nuttall. In this period, which lasted until 2014 when he returned, Penny took on many of his ceremonies and duties and continues to do so, including the running of Broadlands where Leonora was buried.
