Jewels to Celebrate the Late Countess Mountbatten of Burma

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The Mountbatten and Windsor families gathered today at St. Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge to celebrate the life of the late Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Lady Mountbatten was the daughter of the famous Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, who was an uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh and a brother of Queen Louise of Sweden.

Lady Mountbatten was the Duke of Edinburgh’s first cousin and a godmother of the Prince of Wales. She was a formidable woman; she served in World War II, and she was one of the survivors of the IRA bombing that killed her father, her mother-in-law, and one of her sons. We covered her post-war wedding over here and chatted about her wedding tiara over here; today, we’re glancing at some of the elegant jewels worn at her funeral service.

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Lord Brabourne, the late Lady Mountbatten’s eldest son, arrived hand in hand with his wife, Penelope. Although they have been estranged in the recent past, the two presented a united front at the funeral service. After today, they’ll officially be known as the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma. (Norton had previously inherited his father’s Brabourne barony; now, he inherits his mother’s Mountbatten earldom.)

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The new Lady Mountbatten wore a lovely diamond floral brooch with classic pearl earrings to celebrate her mother-in-law’s extraordinary life.

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The Queen was a bridesmaid at the late Lady Mountbatten’s wedding; today, she wore the elegant Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch at her funeral. (More on the brooch’s history over here.)

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The Prince of Wales was among the mourners at his godmother’s funeral; so was the Duke of Edinburgh, who was recently released from the hospital.

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The Duke of York was also in attendance…

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…as was the Countess of Wessex. (The Earl of Wessex had previously-scheduled official engagements in Scotland.) Sophie wore her Dior Tribales pearl-look earrings with a dress made of heart-shaped lace.

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The Princess Royal attended the funeral in classic pearls and one of her gold and pearl brooches.

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And a few more royals were in attendance, too: the Kent brothers, Edward and Michael, represented their branch of the royal family.