The 1990s were anything but easy for the British royal family. Scandals, affairs, financial troubles and divorces: Queen Elizabeth feared for her court’s reputation – which turned out not to be entirely unfounded. In particular, the news about the failed marriage of their son Prince Charles and his wife Diana Spencer caused chaos. And that’s what season five of The Crown, currently streaming on Netflix, is all about. But of course there are subplots that are just as interesting…
The second episode of the current season kicks off with a touching funeral attended not only by Lady Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Prince Charles (Dominic West), but also by Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce), the Queen’s husband. Who the Royals are actually mourning here is not entirely clear at first.
Leonora Knatchbull dies in “The Crown” Episode 5.2
In the first episode of the fifth season of The Crown, Lady Diana and her husband Prince Charles plan to go on a second honeymoon to show the media and the public that they are still happily married – which they actually aren’t.
To avoid a fight between Diana and Charles, Charles’ friends Norton (Elliot Cowan) and Penelope Knatchbull (Natascha McElhone) and their children join the family. The youngest member of the Knatchbulls family, five-year-old Leonora (Clara Graham), has kidney cancer, Norton explains.
In the second episode it becomes clear that the cancer has not been cured and that Leonora has died of it. The royals bid the girl farewell and join Norton and Penelope at their daughter’s funeral. However, with the girl’s death, a new relationship begins – which in reality became a scandal for the British royal family.
Did Prince Philip have an affair with Leonora’s mother?
Leonora’s father Norton is not only friends with Prince Charles, he is also a cousin of Prince Philip. After the girl’s death, he visits the Knatchbull family and wants to support Mother Penelope, also known as Penny or Lady Romsey, and make her grieving phase more bearable. Philip also shows her his favorite hobby: driving a carriage. The two become friends and spend a lot of time together.
That Philip might be having an affair with Penelope was a rumor that lingered in the UK until his death in April 2021. Because after Leonora’s death, the two became best friends, traveled together and attended public events. This friendship was probably not always easy for the Queen to accept. This story will also be picked up again in the fifth season of “The Crown” in a later episode.