Last night the Romsey community was confused after reports that Lord Brabourne had left Broadlands for the Caribbean.

Local dignitaries and community leaders have been left mystified after it was claimed the Queen’s cousin had taken up residence in the Bahamas.

It was reported in a Sunday newspaper that his wife of 30 years, Penelope, 57, will continue running the mansion – where both the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales honeymooned.

According to reports Lord Brabourne, 62, is now in the Bahamas, where the family has a five-bedroom home on the exclusive Windermere Island.

It is reported his wife informed staff that he had left the estate, which he inherited from his late grandfather Lord Mountbatten of Burma.

News of Lord Brabourne’s departure has surprised the local community, who regard Broadlands as being at the heart of the town.

A landlord of a Romsey pub, who did not want to be named, said that a customer who had links with the estate had said they’d been told Lord Brabourne was now in the Caribbean.

Another Daily Echo source, who knows the family, confirmed that Lord Brabourne is now in the Bahamas.

Lady Penny, as she is known, is not thought to be currently at the estate and is instead staying at a family home in Kent.

But a question mark now hangs over what will happen in the town, because its royal link, Lord Brabourne, has duties as the Alderman of Romsey.

Mayor of Romsey Mike Curtis said that he had not heard of the lord’s departure.

Tory Romsey town councillor Mark Bramley explained that the couple attend all the town’s major events, where Queen Victoria’s descendant wears a purple cloak. He explained that each event that happens in the town has to be passed by the lord because he is in a position higher than the mayor, so the Town Hall communicates with them on a regular basis.

The town’s resident of 25 years added: “The Brabournes are held in such high esteem. Not many towns in England have got an abbey and got a royal living at the end of the street.

“Romsey has got both – that is what makes it so special. It would be terribly sad and the town would be terribly shocked if this was the case.”

It is claimed that Lady Penelope, who is a carriage-driving companion of Prince Philip’s, will continue running the estate with the help of her daughter Alexandra.

It was reported that she told all the staff and groundsmen who work on the estate that she would be running the Grade I listed Palladian home and had no intention of leaving.

The tomb of the pair’s daughter Leonora, who died from leukaemia when she was just five, is in the grounds of Broadlands.

The heir to the estate is their son, Nicholas Knatchbull, 28. He was named after the current lord’s brother, who was killed in the IRA attack of 1979 which also claimed the life of Lord Mountbatten of Burma.

Broadlands is closed until 2011 for refurbishment and the removal of asbestos.

Nobody at Broadlands estate was available for comment.