Lady Penny Romsey

Royal Windsor Horse Show 06

Tape no. 13-05-06/1

Location:

The British Press are trying to make a bit of mischief today by publishing images of the Queen apparently checking herself in the mirror whilst husband Philip was (in the words of one tabloid) "deep in conversation with a glamorous younger woman". The Daily Mail leads the way with a full page report on the Queen and Prince Philip's attendance at the 4-day Royal Windsor Horse Show, which ends on Sunday. Not for the first (or last) time, the media are making much of the Duke of Edinburgh's close friendship with Lady Penny Romsey, the wife of Norton Natchbull, the grandson of Philip's assassinated Uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten. Speaking to the paper, on onlooker says: "The Queen drove herself from Windsor just before the event started but she and Prince Philip were at opposite ends of the dressage ring." "Lady Romsey and Prince Philip looked very pleased to see each other. They are good old friends and share a love of the same things. The Queen looked very serious and she didn’t hang around." Philip and Penny Romsey share a love of carriage driving and the Duke was a great support when the Romsey's five-year old daughter, Leonora, tragically died of cancer in 1991. It was a death which greatly affected many members of the Royal Family and establishment, including Charles and Diana, who attended Leonora's funeral. Around this time, The Sun newspaper was hugely embarrassed when they they published a front page photograph of the Prince of Wales hugging a mystery blonde. It later emerged that the "mystery" lady was Penny Romsey and the Prince was simply comforting his family friend having only just received news of her daughter's illness. Yesterday, the Queen and Philip attended the first day of the annual horse show to watch Lady Romsey compete in the dressage section: "Lady Romsey was first up and the Queen left again as soon as she finished the event. Lady Romsey seemed very pleased with her performance. She was very animated when she finished." Being a little mischevious, the paper repeats the story about Philip and Lady Romsey at a ball in Cowes in 2001 where the Queen's husband was "spotted on the dance floor whispering into her ear". Seeing today's coverage, is it any wonder the Duke of Edinburgh once told members of the Press pack he hoped they broke their "bloody necks" by falling from their stepladders!