The Crown investigates Prince Philip’s alleged affair with Penny Knatchbull

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Rumors of Prince Philip having affairs have been around for a long time — and now The crown goes there with a report The sun suggesting the new series of the hit Netflix show will depict a romance between Prince Philip and his close friend Penny Knatchbull when it debuts on November 9.

There was never any doubt that Philip and Penny, also known as Countess Mountbatten of Burma, were close friends and rumors of an affair have long dogged them, despite the 30-year age difference between them. While the palace never acknowledged the speculation with any official comment, insiders have always denied that the pair were anything more than good friends.

But in the new series The sun says the pair are seen “pursuing an affair” and “touching hands” while Philip discusses his marital woes.

Dickie Arbiter, the late Queen Elizabeth’s former press secretary, told the newspaper depicting the pair as romantically linked was “cruel rubbish”.

Penny, played by British actress Natasha McElhone, came into royal orbit in 1979 after marrying the grandson of Louis Mountbatten, Philip’s maternal uncle who had been killed by an IRA bomb two months earlier. They became friends in the 1990s after he taught her to drive a carriage and motorbike.

Palace jokes called Penny “And too,” because when Philip listed guests for a royal event, he often ended with “And Penny, too.”

Penny, now 69, was reportedly asked by the Queen to visit Philip and persuade him to give up his driving license following his 2019 car accident at Sandringham, a mission which she successfully fulfiled. She is said to have been a regular visitor to Philip at his Wood Farm retirement home on the Sandringham estate before his death last year at the age of 99.

Dickie Arbiter, who was Queen’s spokesman from 1988 to 2000, said The sun: “The truth is that Penny was a longtime family friend. Netflix doesn’t care about people’s feelings.”