ALONE IN HER GRIEF AS PHILIP FLAUNTS M'LADY... ultimatum to Prince Philip after decade of sniggers and gossip; Sad Queen begs husband to curb his friendship with blonde beauty Penny.

Byline: RACHAEL BLETCHLY

THE Queen has demanded Prince Philip spend more time supporting her and less with his close friend Lady Penny Romsey.

The lonely Monarch desperately needs her husband's comfort after the deaths of her mother and sister.

And now, in an extraordinary move, she has insisted the 80-year-old Duke curbs his strong relationship with blonde beauty Penny, 48, and instead helps HER through her toughest personal crisis.

She told Philip: "I need you at my side more than ever now. I want you to spend more time with me and less with her."

Philip's deep friendship with stunning Penny - wife of Lord Mountbatten's grandson - has raised eyebrows in Royal circles for more than a decade and was frowned on by the Queen Mother. The couple...

OFTEN see each other twice a week, sometimes more, and travel the country competing in carriage-driving events.

STUNNED guests at a posh ball last year by moving cheek to cheek on the dance floor.

GO for rides on the Duke's quadbike with Penny clinging to his waist and giggling like a teenager.

WERE ENJOYING each other's company at secluded Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate when Princess Margaret died.

WERE TAPED having a mobile phone conversation which revealed their obvious affection.

The Queen Mother fiercely disapproved of Philip's friendship and warned her daughter: "He is flaunting that woman and you must rein him in."

But the Queen - who usually took her mother's advice on everything - refused to challenge Philip. So Royal aides were stunned when she finally confronted what they tactfully call the "Penny Romsey Situation" and issued her ultimatum.

One senior courtier told the Sunday People: "For the past decade the Queen has, with typical dignity, simply accepted Philip's great friendship with her."

The Queen's change of heart shows just how much she is grieving and upset. A Palace aide said: "She has lost her sister and her beloved mother, the bedrocks of her life, in quick succession. For the first time in her life, at the age of 75, she feels alone and lonely.

"She feels cast adrift in a sea of grief. She is surprised at her feelings of vulnerability.

"Her instinct has been to turn to Philip and she wants to be sure he'll be around. Her mother's warnings about pulling him in are coming back to haunt her."

Lady Romsey is said to have become increasingly grand and fellow aristocracy mockingly refer to her as M'Lady.

Philip and Penny are frequently together at social occasions un- connected with carriage driving. Last year they raised eyebrows at the Royal Yacht Squadron Ball in Cowes as Philip danced all night with giggling Penny, whispering into her ear and being tactile.

In 1996 Philip was secretly taped talking to Penny on his mobile about Charles and Di's impending divorce and Camilla Parker Bowles. But the tone revealed their obvious closeness.

And Philip dashed off early from the Queen Mother's 100th birthday celebrations to join Penny at another horsey event in Cumbria.

In 1999, while the Queen was at Balmoral, Philip and Penny enjoyed carriage-driving at Sandringham. They were there again in February when Margaret died.

The senior courtier said: "The Queen was furious when Philip stayed at the Wood Farm house party with Lady Romsey after Princess Margaret died. She was 100 miles away at Windsor, coping alone with her grief.

"Although the Royal Family hate letting guests down she hoped he would fly straight back to her side."

But Philip was still at Wood Farm the day after Margaret's death - and the following day appeared jovial when he attended an official engagement.

The courtier said: "The Queen doesn't want to control the Duke's life or stop him carriage driving.

"She knows he's always enjoyed the company of attractive and amusing younger women but has turned a blind eye to it.

"But she feels he is the closest person in her life now and the only one who can comfort her.

"All her life she has been taught to keep her emotions in check, but this double blow is proving hard to bear and she is reaching out for solace. She wants her husband beside her."

Philip has been staying with his wife at Windsor since the Queen Mother's funeral. But close friends say the strong-willed Prince will find it hard to loosen his ties with Penny after so long.

Charles is aware of his mother's feelings about Philip and Lady Romsey. He is concerned about her loneliness.

But he is reluctant to discuss the matter with his blunt-speaking father in case his relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles is thrown back at him.

CAPTION(S):

TEARFUL: Queen at mum's funeral; Lady Penny and Prince Philip are getting close; 1996 He gives his eager pupil lesson in carriage driving; 1970s

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Publication:	The People (London, England)
Date:	Apr 14, 2002
Words:	797
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