Netflix series The Crown is back on the small screen covering a tumultuous time for the Royal Family, as marriages disintegrate in the full glare of the media spotlight and a fire ravages Windsor Castle.

Season 5 of the award-winning series also introduces a number of new characters, among them Penelope Knatchbull and her daughter Leonora.

They play a key role in relationships within the Royal Family, repercussions of which have played out in recent times. Here we take a look at who they are and their impact on the family.

Who is Leonora Knatchbull?

Leonora Louise Marie Elizabeth Knatchbull was the third child and youngest daughter of Norton and Penelope Knatchbull, at the time Lord and Lady Romsey, and later the 3rd Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

In The Crown, the Earl and Countess are played by Elliot Cowan and Natascha McElhone respectively.

Their youngest child Leonora was born on 25 June 1986 but died at the age of five on 22 October 1991 from kidney cancer. She had fallen ill while on holiday with her parents in Majorca in August 1990.

She was visited by Diana, Princess of Wales shortly before her death at St Batholomew’s Hospital in London, according to a report in The Herald at the time.

She is buried at the family estate Broadlands, near Romsey in Hampshire.

Viewers of this season’s The Crown will see Leonora, played by Clara Graham, and her family on a cruise of the Mediterranean with Prince Charles and the Princess of Wales.

What happened after Leonora Knatchbull’s death?

In 1994, Leonora’s parents established the Leonora Children’s Cancer Fund in her memory.

The Royal Family are understood to have offered support to the Mountbattens following their daughter’s death and Prince Philip attended a reception to promote the charity.

The Duke of Edinburgh and Countess Mountbatten would go on to become close companions despite a 32-year age gap, sharing a love of horses and carriage-driving.

Rumours the pair were having an affair were vehemently denied by both over the years, with the Duke of Edinburgh once pointing out his continuous police guard would make conducting a secret affair impossible.

The Countess became known as the keeper of his secrets and was one of those allowed to visit him after he stepped back from royal duties before his death.

At the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, Covid restrictions meant only 30 people could attend, One of those was Penelope, Countess of Mountbatten.