A SON'S TOUCHING GREETING: The Queen at the funeral of Countess Mountba...

The Queen at the funeral of Countess Mountbatten of Burma



In a touching show of affection, Prince Charles greeted his mother with a kiss on the hand as the pair met outside the funeral of his godmother Countess Mountbatten of Burma today.

The Queen was joined by senior royals as she led mourners at the service at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London this afternoon.

The Duke of Kent, Prince Michael of Kent and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, were among those who gathered to pay their respects to the Countess, who died earlier this month the age of 93.

Prince Charles, who described the Countess as a 'very special godmother', looked deep in thought ahead of the service.

Born Patricia Mountbatten, the Countess was the daughter of Charles's beloved great-uncle Earl Mountbatten. The then Princess Elizabeth, her third cousin, was one of her bridesmaids at her wedding in 1946.

Prince Charles said in a statement at the time her death was announced: 'I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of my very special godmother, Lady Mountbatten, whom I have known and loved ever since I can first remember.



'She played an extremely important part in my life and I shall miss her presence most dreadfully.'

The Countess's father Lord Mountbatten, her 14-year-old son Nicholas Knatchbull and her mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne were all murdered by the IRA in 1979 when their boat was blown up off the coast of Sligo.



The Countess, then known as Lady Brabourne, suffered serious injuries, but survived the blast, as did her husband Lord Brabourne and Nicholas's twin brother Timothy.

A local boat boy, 15-year-old Paul Maxwell, also died.

Her husband Lord Brabourne was the producer of films such as A Passage To India and Death On The Nile, and they had six surviving children.