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9 months ago
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A close friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II who lived at the heart of palace life for more than 70 years has died aged 97.
Lady Prudence Penn, who was known as Prue, served as lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother.
She and the Queen, who were born 12 weeks apart, got married in the same year and both had nine great-grandchildren.
Her husband was Sir Eric Penn, who served as Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's office and passed away in 1993.
His uncle had served as groom-in-waiting to King Geroge VI and then as private secretary and treasurer to the Queen Mother.
The couple's son David and their grandson Rory both served as page of honour to the Queen.
A close friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 97. Lady Prudence Penn, who was known as Prue, served as lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother. Above: Lady Penn (centre) with Princess Margaret and policewoman Margaret Liles at a lunch to mark the Women of the Year celebration in 1975
Born Prudence Wilson in Australia in 1926, Lady Penn took the name Stewart-Wilson in 1937.
Her mother Muriel, the 10th lady of Balnakeilly, was from a Scottish family who could trace their ancestry back to Neil Stewart, of Foss House, Perthshire, in 1559.
Her father was Aubyn Wilson, of St Andrews, Fife. His family had made a fortune from gold mining in Australia.
Lady Penn's brothers were Colonel Ralph-Stewart-Wilson, MC and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, who was Deputy Master of Household to the Queen.
Living in Scotland when the Second World War began, Lady Penn was taken out of her Dorset boarding school as her elder brother was sent to fight in North Africa.
She was then educated by a governess in Perthshire before returning to school in Oxfordshire.
Lady Penn was at the heart of royal life for decades and was a close friend of the Queen
Her early life was hit by tragedy during the war when many friends died in a bomb blast at The Guards' Chapel near St James's Park.
She also had to endure the death of a young Grenadier, whom she had spent a night with at the exclusive 400 Club in Leicester Square.
He was killed in a tank as it crossed the Nijmegen Bridge in the Netherlands during the doomed Operation Market Garden.
Having learned typing and shorthand at her final school, Lady Penn ended up working for MI6 alongside Kim Philby, who was later exposed as a traitor who spied for Russia.
She met her husband, who was in the Grenadier Guards, in 1946 at a dance which she attended in a dress she had made from curtains.
His uncle, Sir Arthur Penn, was a close friend of the Queen Mother.
It was through Eric that she came to know both the then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret.
The Queen Mother and Princess Elizabeth attended the Penns' wedding in January 1947, ten months before the future monarch tied the knot with Prince Philip.
The new husband and wife moved to Sternfield House, in Saxmundham, Suffolk.
Lady Penn would attend regular charity events and spent a lot of time socialising in London.
She also worked in the world of music in a voluntary capacity, mixing with the likes of Benjamin Britten and Sir Frederick Ashton.
In Camberwell, south London, Lady Penn sat on a care committee at a church school, where she was in charge of children's welfare.
Sir Eric formally entered the royal fold in 1960, when he became Assistant Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office.
He was promoted to Comptroller in 1964 and served in the role until 1981, when he retired.
As well as their main home in Suffolk, the Penns had an apartment in St James's Palace.
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