Norton Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne

Norton Louis Philip Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne (born 8 October 1947), known until 22 September 2005 as Lord Romsey, is the eldest son of the 7th Baron Brabourne and the 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and a descendant of Queen Victoria. He is 466th in line for the British throne and is also heir apparent to the Earldom of Mountbatten of Burma. Brabourne was born in London. He married Penelope Eastwood (born 16 April 1953), a daughter of Reginald Wray Frank and Marian Elizabeth Hood Eastwood, on 20 October 1979 at Romsey Abbey in Hampshire, where his parents were married in 1946. The family home is Broadlands, also in Hampshire.

The wedding was notable as it took place not long after the murder of his grandfather, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, by an IRA bomb, which also killed 3 others, including his youngest brother, Nicholas Knatchbull (1964-1979), and his grandmother, the Dowager Baroness Brabourne (1897-1979). Presumably the family decided not to allow the IRA's actions to force them to change their already finalised nuptial plans. The Brabournes are very close friends of the British Royal Family, and Lord Brabourne is one of the six godparents of Prince William of Wales and is himself a godchild of The Queen. Lady Brabourne competes in carriage driving competitions alongside Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Lord and Lady Brabourne had three children:

• The Hon. Nicholas Louis Charles Norton Knatchbull (born 15 May 1981), his father's heir apparent
• The Hon. Alexandra Victoria Edwina Diana Knatchbull (born 5 December 1982)
• The Hon. Leonora Louise Marie Elizabeth Knatchbull (25 June 1986 - 22 October 1991). She died of cancer.

Titles from birth

• The Honourable Norton Knatchbull (1947-1979)
• Lord Romsey (1979-2005)
• The Right Honourable The Lord Brabourne (2005-present)

References

• Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victoria's Descendants (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987), page 184.
• http://www.broadlands.net/mountfs.htm
• mountbattenofburma.com - Tribute & Memorial website to Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma