Edwina and Louis Mountbatten, Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma

Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, CI, GBE, DCVO (28 November 1901–21 February 1960) was an English heiress, socialite, relief-worker and the wife of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Queen Victoria founded the Royal Victorian Order. ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the Queen England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 50... Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ...

Lineage and wealth

Edwina Ashley was born Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley in 1901, the elder daughter of Wilfred Ashley, later 1st Baron Mount Temple (of the 1932 creation), who was a Conservative Member of Parliament. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The titles of Viscount Palmerston and Baron Temple of Mount Temple were created in the Peerage of Ireland 12 March 1723 for Henry Temple, of East Sheen, eldest son of Sir John Temple, sometime Attorney General for Ireland. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ...

(Paternally, she descended from the Earls of Shaftesbury who had been ennobled as barons in 1661, and ranked as baronets since 1622. She was a great-granddaughter of the reformist 7th Earl of Shaftesbury through his younger son, The Hon. Evelyn Melbourne Ashley (1836-1907) and his wife, Sybella Farquhar (d. 1886), a granddaughter of the 6th Duke of Bedford (though not, as erroneously alleged, a descendant of Pocahontas). From this cadet branch of the Ashley-Cooper peers would come inheritance of the estate of Broadlands, and of Classiebawn Castle in Sligo, Ireland.) The title of Earl of Shaftesbury was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. Lord Shaftesbury holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Ashley, of Wimborne St Giles in the County of Dorset (1661... Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885), styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was an English politician and philanthropist, one of the best-known of the Victorian era. ... John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (6 July 1766 - 20 October 1839) was a younger son of the Marquess of Tavistock (eldest son and heir of the 4th Duke of Bedford who had died during the lifetime of his father). ... A 1616 engraving of Pocahontas by Simon van de Passe. ... A cadet is a future officer in the military. ... A peer is a person of the same age, status, or ability as another specified person. ... Broadlands Estate, Romsey. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...

(Edwina Ashley's mother was Maude Cassel (1879-1911), daughter of the international magnate Sir Ernest Cassel, friend and private financier to the future King Edward VII. One of the richest and most powerful men in Europe, having lost the beloved wife (Annette Maxwell) for whom he had converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism, as well as his only child, he left the bulk of his vast fortune to his elder granddaughter. After her father's re-marriage in 1914 to Molly Forbes-Sempill, she was sent away to boarding schools, first to The Links in Eastbourne, then to Alde House in Suffolk, at neither of which was she a willing pupil. Sir Ernest solved the domestic dilemma by inviting her to live with him and, eventually, to act as hostess at his London residence, Brooke House. Later, his other mansions, Moulton Paddocks and Branksome Dean, would become part of her Cassel inheritance.) Ernest Cassel painted by Anders Zorn, 1886 Sir Ernest Cassel (1852-1921) was a British merchant banker and capitalist. ... Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of India. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

Marriage to Mountbatten

Edwina Mountbatten as a young woman

By the time Lord Louis Mountbatten first met her in 1920 she was a leading member of London society. Her grandfather died in 1921, leaving her £2 million, the country seat of Broadlands in Hampshire and the palatial London townhouse, Brooke House, at a time when her future husband's salary was £610 per annum. Ashley and Mountbatten were married on 18 July 1922 at St. Margaret's, Westminster. The Royal family were all present and the then-Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) was best man. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The Prince of Wales Feathers. This Heraldic badge of the Heir Apparent is derived from the ostrich feathers borne by Edward, the Black Prince. ... Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972) was King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from the death of his father, George V (1910–36), on 20... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Life after marriage

Edwina Mountbatten as a young matron

The Mountbattens had two daughters, Patricia (born 14 February 1924) and Pamela (born 19 April 1929). Image File history File links Edwinamountbatten. ... Image File history File links Edwinamountbatten. ... The Right Honourable Patricia Edwina Victoria Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (born 14 February 1924) is a British peeress. ... Born Lady Pamela Carmen Louise Mountbatten on 19 April 1929 in Barcelona, Spain, Lady Pamela Hicks is the daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and his wife Edwina Ashley. ...

Lady Mountbatten lived a fashionable and privileged life almost totally dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure — and indeed took off on an extended period at sea during the mid-1930s when no one had any idea of her whereabouts: Publishers Weekly summarises the Janet Morgan biography of Lady Mountbatten: "Edwina Ashley wed Lord Louis ('Dickie') Mountbatten in 1922 at the age of 20, then embarked on two decades of frivolity. Not satisfied having two well-behaved daughters and an 'enthusiastic boy' of a husband, she took refuge in lovers and sparked scandals."^[1] But at the outbreak of the Second World War she acquired a new purpose in life and devoted her considerable intelligence and energy to the service of others. She is especially remembered for her service in the post-Partition period of India and Pakistan, when she was the vice-reine of the truncated India, Pakistan having been partitioned off as a result of the movement led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Look up Pleasure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Intelligence is the mental capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah (referred to in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam, or Great Leader, which is a legally defined title) (December 25, 1876 - September 11, 1948) was an Indian Muslim nationalist, who led the movement demanding a separate homeland for Muslims in...

Lord and Lady Mountbatten had very briefly been the last Viceroy and Vicereine of pre-Partition India; after Partition, Lord Mountbatten remained briefly as the first of the two Governors General of India — in 1950 the link with the monarchy was severed and India's governor general was replaced with a non-executive president. During his brief governor generalship Lord Mountbatten was accorded by the Government of India, to all intents and purposes, his former viceregal powers in the circumstances of appalling carnage and disruption attendant upon the Partition.

Lady Mountbatten in all renderings of the violent disruption that followed the Partition of India is universally praised for her heroic efforts in relieving the misery and to this day she remains a heroine in India of the Partition period — notwithstanding a certain amount of drollery regarding her well-known intimacy with Jawaharlal Nehru. Lord Mountbatten himself remains a controversial figure — possibly if he had not been so eager to hasten Indian independence and ensure that the inevitable carnage that would follow would not occur on the British watch, it would not have occurred at all, or at least not so disastrously. Jawaharlal Nehru (Hindi: , IPA: , from Persian Javâher-e Laal, meaning Red Jewel) (November 14, 1889 – May 27, 1964) was a political leader of the Indian National Congress, a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of Independent India. ...

But Lady Mountbatten is universally regarded as a heroine: her efforts to relieve suffering during the Partition of the Punjab are remembered to this day, together with her modest demeanour in St John's Ambulance Brigade uniform: needless to say, it made a profound impression in juxtaposition with her official portraits in Viceregal grandeur in evening gown and tiara.

Lady Mountbatten continued to lead a life of selfless service after her Viceroyalty in India. She died in her sleep at age 58 of unknown causes in 1960 in Jesselton, Borneo while on an inspection tour for the St John Ambulance Brigade. At her request, Lord Mountbatten buried her at sea off the coast of Portsmouth off the HMS Wakeful on February 25, 1960; Nehru sent two Indian destroyers to accompany her body, and the funeral was officiated by Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Kalimantan. ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... Geoffrey Worth Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth (May 5, 1887 – September 15, 1972) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1945 to 1961. ... The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader and senior clergyman of the Church of England, recognized by convention as the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ...

Affairs

The Mountbattens' non-traditional marriage, great wealth, and leftish politics seem to have elicited much speculation about their "decadent" escapades, despite the tender correspondence the couple maintained throughout their adult lives. Lady Mountbatten occasionally travelled with her husband's sister-in-law, Lady Milford Haven, whose bisexual liaisons are perhaps better documented than those attributed to Edwina. Along with Nancy Cunard, she was alleged to have been lovers with American Paul Robeson, although she successfully brought suit against a newspaper for printing the story since, she testified, she had never met the man. It was rumoured during Mountbatten's viceroyalty, and remains widely believed, that his wife had an affair with Jawaharlal Nehru, who became India's first prime minister during their stay in India, and that the pair may have resumed that connection on Nehru's subsequent visits to England.^[2] The allegation was made in Richard Hough's 1980 biography of Mountbatten, Hero of Our Times. However, the affair is denied by the Mountbatten family, although other liaisons during the couple's open marriage have been admitted. Lord Mountbatten's son-in-law and former naval aide-de-camp, Lord Brabourne, citing the extensive, preserved correspondence between his mother-in-law and Nehru, was quoted on February 12, 2003 in the Indian news periodical The Pioneer to the effect that, "Philip Ziegler and Janet Morgan [biographers, respectively, of Louis and of Edwina Mountbatten] are the only two people who have seen the letters apart from the two families, and neither of them thinks there was anything physical."^[3] Nadejda Mikhailovna Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (March 28, 1896 - January 22, 1963) was the second daughter of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich Romanov and his morganatic wife Countess Sophia von Merenberg, Countess de Torby. ... Nancy Clare Cunard (March 10, 1896 – March 17, 1965) was an English writer, editor and publisher, political activist and poet. ... Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was a multi-lingual American actor, athlete, bass-baritone concert singer, writer, civil rights activist, Communist sympathizer, Spingarn Medal winner, and Lenin Peace Prize laureate. ... An affair is often a euphemism for a situation where two people are involved in an inappropriate romantic relationship. ... Jawaharlal Nehru (Hindi: , IPA: , from Persian Javâher-e Laal, meaning Red Jewel) (November 14, 1889 – May 27, 1964) was a political leader of the Indian National Congress, a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of Independent India. ... Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each is free to engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without regarding this as sexual infidelity. ... The Right Honourable John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, CBE (9 November 1924–23 September 2005) was a British peer and a television producer. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Titles and honours

Shorthand titles

• Miss Edwina Ashley (28 November 1901–18 July 1922)
• The Lady Louis Mountbatten (18 July 1922–23 August 1946)
• The Rt Hon. The Viscountess Mountbatten of Burma (23 August 1946–28 October 1947)
• The Rt Hon. The Countess Mountbatten of Burma (28 October 1947–21 February 1960)

November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

Honours

• Lady of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India
• Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
• Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Queen Victoria founded the Royal Victorian Order. ...

Notes

Portrait of Henri Cartier-Bresson taken by George Platt Lynes. ...

References

• Morgan, Janet. Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own, (1991) Scribners. ISBN 0-684-19346-9
• Ziegler, Philip, Mountbatten: the official biography, (1985) Collins
• Hough, Richard, Mountbatten: Hero of our time, (1980) Weidenfeld and Nicolson
• mountbattenofburma.com - Tribute & Memorial website to Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma