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Birth -

Louis Mountbatten was born on June 25, 1900, in Frogmore House on the grounds of Windsor Castle. He was the son of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse.

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Mountbatten was not his original surname -

His original title was "His Serene Highness, Prince Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas of Battenberg," but he and other royals dropped Germanic names in 1917 during World War One. The family changed their name from Battenberg to Mountbatten.

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Family ties -

Lord Mountbatten was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria, uncle to Prince Philip, and a distant cousin to Queen Elizabeth II. 

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Prince Louis of Wales was named after him -

On April 23, 2018, Prince Louis of Wales was born to William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. His full name, Louis Arthur Charles, honors his paternal grandfather (King Charles III) and Lord Mountbatten, his third-great-uncle.

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Close relationship with Charles -

Lord Mountbatten had a close relationship with the then-Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). Mountbatten acted as a mentor to the young royal and offered him guidance throughout his life. 

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Close relationship with Charles -

Lord Mountbatten often offered Charles love and relationship advice. He reportedly told him to "sow some wild oats" before settling down and deterred him from pursuing Camilla Shand, who went on to marry Andrew Parker Bowels in 1973.

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Marriage -

When he was 22 years old, Lord Mountbatten married Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley, an heiress and socialite. They had two daughters, Patricia and Pamela.

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A complicated relationship -

Lord Mountbatten is thought to have had numerous affairs during his marriage to Edwina. He had an affair with Yola Letellier, a French socialite, for many years.

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Relationships after Edwina's death -

After Edwina's death in 1960, Lord Mountbatten pursued other relationships with women, including actress Shirley MacLaine. In 2019, FBI documents from 1944 became public and revealed claims about Mountbatten's sexuality and alleged perversions.

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Lord Mountbatten and the Royal Navy -

Lord Mountbatten joined the Royal Navy in 1916. In May 1941, his ship, HMS Kelly, was sunk by German dive bombers. Within British naval circles, he was nicknamed "the Master of Disaster" for his ability to get into a mess.

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Lord Mountbatten and HMS Kelly -

Despite the sinking of the ship and Mountbatten losing half of his crew, HMS Kelly and its captain, Lord Mountbatten, were immortalized in the 1942 British war film 'In Which We Serve.'

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The Dieppe Raid -

In April 1942, as Chief of Combined Operations, Mountbatten oversaw Allied forces launch a seaborne raid on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France. Within 10 hours, 3,623 out of 6,086 men were killed, wounded, or became prisoners of war.

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Pearl Harbor prediction -

When Lord Mountbatten visited the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor, he perceived a lack of security and preparedness, causing him to believe America would be brought into the war by a surprise Japanese attack. Initially dismissed, he was proven correct on December 7, 1941.

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Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command -

Winston Churchill appointed Mountbatten Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command in August 1943. He attended the 1945 Potsdam Conference and oversaw the recolonization of Burma and Singapore.

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The alleged coup -

While a coup has never been officially confirmed, there are claims that MI5 officers joined a campaign to undermine Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the hope that Lord Mountbatten would replace him. Mountbatten allegedly refused, believing it to be treason. 

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The last Viceroy of India -

Lord Mountbatten was appointed the Viceroy of India by King George VI in 1947. He was tasked with overseeing the transition of India's independence after 200 years of British colonial rule. 

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The last Viceroy of India -

Due to tensions between India's Muslim and Hindu communities, it was decided that the newly independent nation would be split into two states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, which comprised Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh.)

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The Indian Independence Act -

Lord Mountbatten brought forward the date of the Indian Independence Act in the hope it would reduce tensions. Rushing through the partition led to the largest human mass migration in history. A million people died in conflicts between the communities, and between 10 and 12 million people were displaced.

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Lord Mountbatten's death -

On August 29, 1979, Lord Mountbatten and several companions went fishing on his boat, Shadow V, in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland. While the party was on the boat, a bomb that had been secretly planted on board was detonated, killing Mountbatten and three others.

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Lord Mountbatten's funeral -

Lord Mountbatten's ceremonial funeral, attended by the royal family, took place at Westminster Abbey on September 5, 1979.

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Who killed Lord Mountbatten? -

Thomas McMahon, a member of the IRA, planted the bomb on Lord Mountbatten's boat. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

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Lord Mountbatten refused a security detail -

Lord Mountbatten had received repeated threats from the Provisional IRA to assassinate him yet refused any security detail. He instead stated, "Who the hell would want to kill an old man anyway?".

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Why did the IRA target Lord Mountbatten? -

Lord Mountbatten was not only an easy target, as he didn't have any personal security, but he was also a symbolic target; he was one of the most respected members of the royal family.

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Why did the IRA target Lord Mountbatten? -

Lord Mountbatten's assassination took place during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which saw Unionists clash with Republicans over whether Northern Ireland should be part of the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. 

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British involvement -

The British army was deployed to Northern Ireland to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). The army used aggressive efforts to disarm republican paramilitaries and shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march on January 30, 1972.

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The IRA claimed responsibility of Lord Mountbatten's death -

The IRA stated at the time that the "bombing was a discriminate act to bring to the attention of the English people the continuing occupation of our country."

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The IRA claimed responsibility of Lord Mountbatten's death -

The IRA also went on to say "the death of Lord Mountbatten and tributes paid to him will be seen in contrast to the apathy of the British Government and English people to the deaths of over 300 British soldiers and the deaths of Irish men, women and children at the hands of their forces.”

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The aftermath of Lord Mountbatten's death -

Margaret Thatcher, prime minister at the time of the assassination, responded by withdrawing political rights associated with prisoner of war status for IRA prisoners. The IRA responded with a hunger strike, which led to the eventual death of Irish nationalist Bobby Sands.

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The aftermath of Lord Mountbatten's death -

On May 22, 1998, a political deal known as the Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement was signed to bring an end to 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland.

Sources: (Independent) (History) (BBC)

See also: The Troubles: Understanding Northern Ireland's era of unrest

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