Patricia Mountbatten has died aged 93. She is seen her in 2005

Patricia Mountbatten, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh's first cousin and god mother to Prince Charles, has died aged 93.

A Wednesday statement issued on behalf of the Knatchbull and Mountbatten families on said: 'Patricia Mountbatten died peacefully on Tuesday 13th June at her home in Mersham, Kent, surrounded by her children. Her husband, the celebrated film producer Lord Brabourne, died in 2005.'

The Queen and the Duke have been told of the passing and have privately passed on their condolences, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed.

The Countess Mountbatten of Burma survived an IRA bomb that was placed on the family boat as they holidayed off the coast of Sligo, Ireland on August 27 1979.

The Countess's father Earl Mountbatten, who was a beloved uncle of Prince Charles, along with her 14-year-old son Nicholas Knatchbull and her mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne all died in the attack.

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

She was pulled from the water and required 120 stitches to her face, which she wryly referred to in later years as 'my IRA facelift'.

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Patricia Mountbatten and her dogs Sandy and Skye at the family home in Mersham, Kent in 2004

The Countess's father Earl Mountbatten, who was a beloved uncle of Prince Charles, died in the attack

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma with members of his family on his thirty-foot boat, Shadow V, at Mullaghmore, County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland, circa 1975 just four years it was blown up

The Countess, known as Lady Brabourne at the time of the attack, recalled how she cried every morning on waking for about six months after the blast.

In a book by a bereavement charity, she referred to 'the seemingly endless black tunnel' through which those left behind have to pass to reach 'the light that truly does appear at the end, and which we eventually found ourselves'.

For more than 30 years she used her own personal experience of loss to help other bereaved parents, through her support of the charities Child Bereavement UK and Compassionate Friends.

THE COUNTESS MOUNTBATTEN OF BURMA Patricia Edwina Victoria Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, was born on February 14 1924.

She was Queen Elizabeth's third cousin, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh's first cousin and god mother to Prince Charles.

She married playwright Lord Brabourne, who died in 2005, in 1946 when he was an aide to her father in the Far East.

The Countess's father Earl Mountbatten was a beloved uncle of Prince Charles.

The Countess's life was irrevocably altered after she survived an IRA bomb that was placed on the family boat as they holidayed off the coast of Sligo, Ireland on August 27, 1979.

Her father along with her 14-year-old son Nicholas Knatchbull and her mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne all died in the attack. A local boat boy, 15-year-old Paul Maxwell, also died.

For more than 30 years she used her own personal experience of loss to help other bereaved parents, through her support of the charities Child Bereavement UK and Compassionate Friends.

She and her husband had eight children and 18 grandchildren. Their eldest son, Norton, 69, and his wife Penny, 64, who live at Broadlands, have now become the new Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Advertisement

In an extraordinary moment last month the Prince of Wales shared a joke and a handshake with Gerry Adams, the man accused of being the IRA's mouthpiece.

They shook hands after Prince Charles held a private meeting with Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Government Buildings on the final day of his tour of Ireland.

Charles looked in good spirits as he met with the Sinn Fein president, who has been at the helm of the party since 1983, during a reception at Glencairn House in Dublin.

Their handshake came two years after Charles became the first member of the Royal family to meet with the politician.

Countess Mountbatten of Burma pictured with Prince Charles (left) cerca in 1980 and pictured (right) in 1992

On that occasion, Adams refused to apologise for the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, Charles's beloved great uncle and mentor.

Although Mr Adams later expressed 'regret' over Louis Mountbatten's murder - which he publicly justified at the time - he stopped short of apologising for what had happened.

The Countess's husband Lord Brabourne, who died in 2005, was the producer of films such as A Passage To India and Death On The Nile, and they had eight children together - including Nicholas.

They were married in 1946 when he was an aide to her father in the Far East.

Their wedding took place at Romsey Abbey near the family's home, Broadlands in Hampshire, and the bridesmaids were the then Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, the bride's younger sister Lady Pamela Mountbatten - later Hicks - and the Queen's cousin Princess Alexandra.

Irish police officer looking through rubble remains of the Shadow V boat which Earl Mountbatten was on when it was blown up by IRA in 1979

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding day, November 20, 1947. Second from left, standing at the back is, Lady Patricia Mountbatten: in front of her in the lavender dress is Queen Mary, the mother of King George VI; Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Greeceis beside her (2nd from left, front row). The best man is Maleford Haven. Princess Margaret is the bridemaid to the right of Prince Philip. the standing group at the right consists of King George VI, HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Princess Alice of Athlone

She was godmother to the Prince of Wales. Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen and her third cousin, was one of her bridesmaids at her wedding.

Their eldest son, Norton, 69, and his wife Penny, 64, who live at Broadlands, have now become the new Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma. She also leaves 18 grandchildren.

'The arrangements for a funeral in London followed by a burial service in Mersham will be announced in due course,' the statement from the family added.