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Lord Mountbatten

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Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (June 25, 1900–August 27, 1979 when killed by an IRA bomb), was a British statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was the last Viceroy and first Governor-General of independent India, and First Sea Lord, as was his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg. His full style was: Admiral of the Fleet Sir Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma, 1st Baron Romsey, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS.

Mountbatten had no sons, and when created Viscount on August 23, 1946, and then the Earl and Baron on October 28, 1947, the Letters Patent were drafted such that the titles would pass to the female line. This was to recognise his wartime service, and the regard he was held by the rest of the British Royal Family, as well as to atone for the disservice done to his father. Thus, on his death, the titles did not become extinct, instead he was succeeded by his daughter, Patricia.

File:Mountbatten.jpg
Viceroy Mountbatten of India (1947)

Ancestry

He was born in Windsor Castle, in England, as His Serene Highness Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas, Prince of Battenberg, although his German styles and titles were dropped in 1917. He was the son of Prince Louis of Battenberg, who had been obliged to resign as First Sea Lord on the outbreak of World War I because of his German origins. (Battenberg had a youthful affair with the actress Lillie Langtry, and is sometimes said to have been the father of Jeanne Marie Langtry Malcolm.1). Louis was also a great-grandson of Queen Victoria.

Career

Mountbatten served in the navy during the First World War, and in the Second World War he commanded the 5th destroyer flotilla and was later Supreme Allied Commander in South-East Asia. His experience in the region led to his being appointed Viceroy of India after the war. In his position as Viceroy, Mountbatten oversaw the granting of independence to both India and Pakistan. He was familiarly known to British people as "Lord Louis", and was given the title "Earl Mountbatten of Burma" in recognition of his service in the Far East.

Marriage and descendants

Mountbatten -- known within the family as "Dickie" -- was a strong influence in the upbringing of his great-nephew, Charles, Prince of Wales. He was married in 1922 to Hon. Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley (1901-1960), a daughter of Wilfred Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple, and his wife, Amalia Cassel. She died in Borneo and was buried at sea. They had two daughters: Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (born 1924), and Lady Pamela Carmen Louise, Mrs. David Hicks (born 1929). Lady Mountbatten reportedly had affairs with Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and American actor-singer Paul Robeson.

Death

On August 27, 1979, while holidaying as usual in his summer home in Sligo in the Republic of Ireland he was killed by a bomb planted in his boat in Donegal Bay. The Provisional IRA admitted responsibility for the bomb. Other victims of the assassination were:

  • Lady Brabourne: his elder daughter's mother-in-law (aged 82).
  • Hon. Nicholas Timothy Charles Knatchbull: (18 November 1964-27 August 1979), the son of John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, 16th Baronet (b. 1924-) and his wife Patricia Mountbatten (Countess Mountbatten of Burma) (b. 1924), twin brother of Timothy Knatchbull.
  • Paul Maxwell: a local boy working as a crew member (aged 15).

The killing of Mountbatten, and the accompanying murder of eighteen soldiers the same day in a bombing in Northern Ireland led to public outrage in Ireland. The President of Ireland, Patrick Hillery, and the Taoiseach (prime minister) Jack Lynch both attended a memorial service for Lord Mountbatten in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. On November 23, 1979 Thomas McMahon was sentenced to life in prison for the assassination.

Note

1It is often assumed (on the basis of Mountbatten's acknowledgement) that Louis Battenberg was the father of Jeanne-Marie. It appears that he paid support money for her in some regard - or Lillie was paid off at any rate. A recent biography of Lillie suggested that the father was really one Arthur Jones and that it was simply more profitable to blame Louis. In any case, given her mother's promiscuity it is difficult to be certain who Jeanne-Marie's father was.

Further reading

  • Mountbatten: the official biography, by Philip Ziegler (Collins, 1985)
  • Eminent Churchillians, by Andrew Roberts (Phoenix Press, 1994). The author states that it "makes the case for the impeachment of the last Viceroy of India, on the grounds that his cheating over the India-Pakistan frontier and his headlong rush towards partition led to around one million deaths in Punjab and the North-West Frontier in 1947-48".
Preceded by:
The Viscount Wavell 		Viceroy of India
1947 		Followed by:
---
Preceded by:
--- 		Governor-General of India
1947-1948 		Followed by:
Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari
Preceded by:
New Creation 		Earl Mountbatten of Burma Followed by:
Patricia Mountbatten
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