Just 30 people will be able to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral on Saturday, due to Covid restrictions.

Initial plans featured an 800-strong congregation, but the Queen has been forced to be very selective when whittling down the numbers.

All but four of the guests are members of the Royal Family, with three of the Duke’s German relatives and one of his closest companions, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, completing the list.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “At its heart it is still a family event. We are following the Covid guidelines. There was a limit on who could be invited as a guest and Her Majesty wanted to ensure that all branches of the Duke’s family were there, and had to make some very difficult decisions about who would be there.

“For those that unfortunately can’t be there, I’m sure they will be making their own private arrangements about how they commemorate the Duke, and indeed celebrate the Duke.”

Who is Countess Mountbatten of Burma?

Penelope Meredith Mary Knatchbull is Countess Mountbatten of Burma. She was born Penelope Meredith Mary Eastwood in London in 1953.

She is married to Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, from whom she gets her title. The pair wed in 1979, with Prince Charles serving as best man.

Earl Mountbatten’s grandfather, the 1st Earl Mountbatten, was Philip’s uncle. He was assassinated by the IRA in 1979. The explosion also killed his wife Lady Brabourne, grandson Nicholas Knatchbull – the 3rd Earl’s younger brother, who was just 15-years-old – and their friend Paul Maxwell.

Countess Mountbatten is known as Penny to her friends, and was the Lady Bradbourne until 2017, when she became Countess Mountbatten after the death of 2nd Countess Patricia Knatchbull.

She started getting close to the Royal Family through her husband, who knew the Prince of Wales from school, and they quickly took a liking to her.

She started spending more time with the Queen and Duke in the early 90s, following the death of her five-year-old daughter Lenora, from liver cancer. She has two older children, Nicholas and Alexandra.

The Duke and Countess bonded over a love of being outdoors, and he taught her to drive a carriage in 1994. They attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show together, and were pictured riding mini motorcycles around the carriage driving course.

In 2010 it was revealed that her husband had been having an affair, and both the Queen and Philip were reportedly impressed by the strength she showed thereafter.

She took over the running of the Broadlands estate, and remained closer to the Royal Family than the Earl, despite his near-lifelong ties.