Earl Mountbatten’s son Nicholas Knatchbull weds his performing mermaid fiancée of two years
The mermaid who’ll become a countess! Earl Mountbatten’s son and ex-drug addict Nicholas Knatchbull weds fiancée of two years who was once a fire-eating ‘mer-lesque’ performer
- Prince Charles’s godson Nicholas Knatchbull has quietly married his fiancée
- Ex-drug addict Nicholas, 37, is great-grandson of Earl Mountbatten of Burma
- New wife Ambre Saint-Claire is a former ‘mer-lesque’, a performing mermaid
- The couple married at his family’s stately home of Broadlands in May
Prince Charles’s godson Nicholas Knatchbull has quietly married his ‘mermaid’ fiancée in a civil ceremony at his family’s stately home.
The tattooed ex-drug addict, 40, is the son of Lord and Lady Brabourne and the great grandson of the late Lord Mountbatten, with whom Prince Charles had an exceptionally close bond while growing up.
The heir to the £100million Mountbatten fortune wed Ambre Pouzet — who was once a ‘mer-lesque’ artiste, or performing mermaid, under the surname Saint-Clare — after a two-and-a-half-year engagement.
They married at Broadlands in Hampshire in a civil ceremony conducted by a registrar on May 20, 2021, their marriage certificate shows.
The marriage means Ambre, who is French and has lived in England for four years, could one day become the next Countess Mountbatten.
The wedding is likely to have been quite different from Nicolas’ sister Alison’s 2016 nuptials, where she was walked down the aisle by Prince Charles and guests included the Queen and Prince Philip.
The son and heir of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Nicholas Knatchbull, has quietly wed his fiancée Ambre Pouzet (both pictured) after a two-and-a-half-year engagement
Ambre was once a ‘mer-lesque’ artiste, or performing mermaid, under the surname Saint-Clare. She could one day become the next Countess Mountbatten
A marriage certificate obtained by the Mail gives Nicholas’s occupation as ‘music producer and gardener’ and Ambre’s as ‘behavioural therapist’.
He is thought to do gardening work at Broadlands, where the couple live in a nearby cottage.
The royals have a huge sentimental attachment to Broadlands. The Queen and Philip spent their wedding night there, as did Charles and Diana.
Newlyweds Nicholas, who turned 40 five days before the wedding, and Ambre, whose 37th birthday was last Saturday, were photographed together wearing their wedding rings on a recent stroll around Winchester.
He wore a T-shirt with a skull design and the motto ‘will to win’, tracksuit trousers and trainers, and slung his hoodie over his shoulder.
Nicholas was educated at Eton, where he helped to mentor the young Prince William (pictured together in 1992)
THE TANGLED WEB OF THE KNATCHBULLS: CONFIDANTES AND COMPANIONS OF ROYALTY
Prince Charles has had a close relationship with the Knatchbull family ever since childhood.
He was famously devoted to the first Earl Mountbatten – Alexandra’s great-grandfather – Louis, who had hoped that the Prince would marry his granddaughter Amanda.
The Prince referred to Lord Mountbatten as his Honorary Grandfather, and consulted him on matters both of state and of the heart.
Prince Charles was famously devoted to the first Earl Mountbatten – Alexandra’s great-grandfather – Louis, who had hoped that the Prince would marry his granddaughter Amanda
The Prince referred to Lord Mountbatten as his Honorary Grandfather, and consulted him on matters both of state and of the heart
Their close relationship was depicted in the hit Netflix series The Crown, where Lord Mountbatten was portrayed by Greg Wise (seasons 1 and 2) and Charles Dance (seasons 3 and 4)
When Lord Mountbatten was killed along with his grandson Nicholas by IRA terrorists in 1979, Charles was heartbroken and he read the lesson at his funeral.
Louis Mountbatten’s grandson is Norton Knatchbull, the bride Alexandra’s father.
Norton, known as Lord Brabourne, and his wife Penelope – herself the carriage-racing partner of Prince Philip – had three children: Alexandra, her brother Nicholas, and a sister, Leonora, who died tragically of kidney cancer when she was just five years old.
The royal family’s close relationship was depicted in the hit Netflix series The Crown, where Lord Mountbatten was portrayed by Greg Wise (seasons 1 and 2) and Charles Dance (seasons 3 and 4)
Lord Brabourne walked out on his 31-year marriage to be with Jeannie Nuttall, but later returned the family home Broadlands.
However, the couple are still estranged, and relations between Lord Brabourne and Alexandra are said to be strained.
He did not give away his first-born daughter at her wedding in 2016 as he was too ill to perform the necessary duties.
It is unknown if the family attended Nicholas’ wedding in May.
The wedding is likely to have been quite different from Nicolas’ sister Alison’s 2016 nuptials, where she was walked down the aisle by Prince Charles and guests included the Queen and Prince Philip
Ambre wore a black dress, denim jacket and trainers, and carried a large tote bag and a face mask.
The marriage certificate also shows that Ambre’s father is a retired manager of a rental company and her late mother was a retail manager.
One of the witnesses is thought to have been a make-up artist friend of Ambre’s.
In gushing posts previously shared on Instagram, Ambre has previously described Nicholas ‘mon amour’, while he has described her as his ‘missis’ (sic) and ‘lover’.
She described herself on her profile as a ‘holistic health coach’ with interests in ‘herbal medicine’, ‘lunar chronobiology’ and ‘dance/intuitive movement/yoga’.
Among Ambre’s skills are fire eating, ‘body burning’ where flame is ‘directly in contact’ with her skin, and a ‘real gold leaf body cover show’
But she has also worked as what is known as a professional mermaid.
A native of Paris, she began classical dance training at the age of seven before she ‘discovered the world of belly dancing, circus, and music hall, which allowed her to develop a strong presence on stage and a unique energy’, according to a biography of her on another website.
‘In 2010, when she was on a trip in the Caribbean, she discovered diving and the ‘flipper’,’ it continues.
It was then that Ambre, who was apparently ‘captivated by the mermaid world since her childhood’, began her mermaid performances.
These involved wearing a custom-made Swarovski crystal-encrusted mermaid tail – but often very little else – for her ‘unforgettable’ and ‘realistic’ underwater shows and photoshoots.
Pictured: Queen Mother, Nicholas Knatchbull, Alexandra Knatchbull, Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York at Trooping the Colour in 1987
His father Lord Brabourne is the godson of the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles was his best man, while his mother Lady Brabourne was a close friend of Prince Philip
In addition to what she called her ‘aquatic magic’, Ambre could also turn her hand to fire eating, ‘body burning’ where flame is ‘directly in contact’ with her skin, and a ‘real gold leaf body cover show’.
Meanwhile Nicholas, a great-grandson of Earl Mountbatten of Burma and a godson of Prince Charles, is next in line to the prestigious Mountbatten title after his father.
His father Lord Brabourne is the godson of the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles was his best man.
Lord Brabourne is also Prince William’s godfather, while Prince Charles was Lord Mountbatten’s godson.
Lord Mountbatten was famously killed in August, 1979, when IRA bombers blew up a small boat he was on in the sea off Mullaghmore, County Sligo. Charles was heartbroken and he read the lesson at his funeral.
Nicholas, who has been engaged three times before, was educated at Eton, where he helped to mentor the young Prince William and is the godson of Prince Charles
The tattooed former drug addict uses the names Deep N Beeper and Five Dimensional Nick in his work as a musician (pictured, at the wedding of his sister Alexandra in 2016)
The explosion also killed Lord Brabourne’s 14-year-old younger brother Nicholas, his paternal grandmother, the Dowager Lady Brabourne, and a local boy who was with the family. Nicholas’s twin brother Timothy, and his parents, were all injured.
Meanwhile his mother Lady Penny Brabourne was a long-term carriage-driving companion of Prince Philip, with the pair competing in countless shows across the country.
She was one of the few guests invited to his funeral in April.
Nicholas was educated at Eton, where he helped to mentor the young Prince William.
Then he went to Edinburgh University but dropped out after six weeks and descended into drug addiction.
The royals have a huge sentimental attachment to Broadlands. The Queen and Philip spent their wedding night there, as did Charles and Diana (pictured, the Queen and Prince Philip at Broadlands in 2007)
He fought a long battle with crack cocaine and heroin, and there was talk of his parents disinheriting him amid fears he would squander the family fortune.
He has never wanted to use his courtesy title Lord Romsey, pointedly living a life as far removed as possible from the great family house.
He spent many years living in various flats all over London and has been engaged to three of his ex-girlfriends.
Nicholas, engaged three times before, describes himself and Ambre as the ‘dynamic duo’.
The tattooed former drug addict uses the names Deep N Beeper and Five Dimensional Nick in his work as a musician.
