Ankitasharma at 07:25, 11 March 2026

2026-03-11T07:25:06Z

WikiDwarf: Creating Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma

2023-08-15T16:43:50Z

Creating Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma

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{{Short description|British aristocrat (1901–1960)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CI|GBEf|DCVO|GCStJ}}
| birth_name = Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley
| image = Lady Mountbatten (Women at War 1939-1945).jpg
| caption = Mountbatten in the uniform of the [[St John Ambulance Brigade]]
| office1 = [[Governor-General of India|Viceregal-Consort of India]]
| term_start1 = 21 February 1947
| term_end1 = 21 June 1948
| monarch1 = [[George VI]]
| 2blankname1 = {{nowrap|Governor-<br>General}}
| 2namedata1 = [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1901|11|28}}
| birth_place = London<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mountbatten-edwina-ashley-1901-1960|last=Encyclopedia|title=Mountbatten, Edwina Ashley (1901-1960|accessdate=10 July 2021}}</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1960|2|21|1901|11|28}}
| death_place = [[Kota Kinabalu|Jesselton]], [[Crown Colony of North Borneo]]
| resting_place = Off the coast of [[Portsmouth]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]|18 July 1922}}
| children = {{plainlist|
* [[Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma]]
* [[Lady Pamela Hicks]]
}}
| parents = {{plainlist|
* [[Wilfrid Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple]]
* Amalia Cassel
}}
}}
'''Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CI|GBE|DCVO|GCStJ|}} ({{nee}} '''Ashley'''; 28 November 1901 – 21 February 1960),<ref>GRO Register of Births: MAR 1902 1a 434 ST GEO HAN SQ = London</ref> was an English heiress, socialite, relief worker and the last [[vicereine of India]] as the wife of (the then) [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Rear Admiral]] [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|The 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma]].

==Family background and early life==
[[File:Edwina Mountbatten and her mother.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Mountbatten with her mother circa 1907]]
Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley was born in 1901, the elder daughter of [[Wilfrid Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple|Wilfrid Ashley]] (later 1st Baron Mount Temple), who was a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] member of Parliament.<ref>Janet Morgan, ''Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own'' (1991).</ref> Her younger sister was [[Mary Cholmondeley, Lady Delamere|Mary Ashley]] (Lady Delamere). Patrilineally, she was a great-granddaughter of the reformist [[Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury|7th Earl of Shaftesbury]]. Edwina's mother, Amalia Mary Maud Cassel (1879–1911), was the only child of the international magnate [[Sir]] [[Ernest Cassel]] (1852–1921), friend and private financier to the future [[King Edward VII]]. Cassel had been born in Cologne, Prussia, of Jewish origin. He was one of the richest and most powerful men in Europe.

After Wilfred Ashley's remarriage in 1914 to [[Molly Forbes-Sempill]] (ex-wife of Rear-Admiral [[Arthur Forbes-Sempill]]), Edwina Ashley 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. Edwina was unhappy during the time because, in addition to a sour relationship with her stepmother, she was bullied at school on account of her grandfather being rich, German, and Jewish. She later described her experience at school as 'sheer hell'.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tunzelmann|first=Alex von|title=Indian Summer|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2007|isbn=9781471166440|location=India|pages=60}}</ref> Her grandfather, Sir Ernest, solved the domestic dilemma by inviting her to live with him and, eventually, to act as hostess at his London residence, [[Brook House (Park Lane)|Brook House]]. Later, his other mansions, [[Moulton Paddocks]] and Branksome Dene, would become part of her Cassel inheritance.{{Citation needed|date = April 2021}}

==Marriage and children==
[[File:Louis and Edwina Mountbatten 02.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Louis and Edwina Mountbatten early in marriage]]
By the time she first met Louis Mountbatten, a relative of the [[British royal family]] and a nephew of [[Empress Alexandra of Russia]], in 1920, Edwina Ashley was a leading member of London society. Her maternal grandfather died in 1921, leaving her £2 million (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|2|1921|r=1}}}} million in {{Inflation-year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}), and his palatial London townhouse, [[Brook House (Park Lane)|Brook House]], at a time when her future husband's naval salary was £610 a year (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|610|1921|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}). Later, she inherited the country seat of [[Broadlands]], Hampshire, from her father, Lord Mount Temple.
[[File:Lady Louis Mountbatten.jpg|thumb|Edwina Ashley in her wedding dress, 1923, by [[Philip de László]]]]
Ashley and Mountbatten married on 18 July 1922 at [[St Margaret's, Westminster]]. The wedding attracted more than 8,000 people, including members of the royal family such as [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]], [[Queen Alexandra]], and the Prince of Wales (the future [[King Edward VIII]]). It was dubbed "wedding of the year".<ref>Von Tunzelmann, p. 71.</ref> There followed a honeymoon tour of European royal courts and America which included a visit to [[Niagara Falls]] (because "all honeymooners went there").<ref name="life1942081763">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v04EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63 |title=Lord Louis Mountbatten |magazine=Life |date=17 August 1942 |access-date=20 September 2012 |page=63 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> During their honeymoon in California, the newlyweds starred in a silent home movie by [[Charlie Chaplin]] called ''Nice And Friendly'', which was not shown in cinemas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/films/9-Limelight/articles/300-Nice-and-Friendly|title=Nice and Friendly|work=Charlie Chaplin Official Website|accessdate=5 August 2022}}</ref>

The Mountbattens had two daughters, [[Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma|Patricia]] (14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) and [[Lady Pamela Hicks|Pamela]] (born 19 April 1929).<ref>Von Tunzelmann, p. 73.</ref>
[[Drew Pearson (journalist)|Drew Pearson]] described Edwina in 1944 as "one of the most beautiful women in England".<ref name=PEARSON-TRACTOR-STPETETMS>{{cite news|last=Pearson|first=Drew|title=Ford May Convert Willow Run into Huge Tractor Plant|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19440916&id=qpExAAAAIBAJ&pg=6922,2014592|access-date=19 May 2013|newspaper=St. Peterburg Times|date=16 September 1944}}</ref> She was known to have had affairs throughout the marriage, doing little to hide them from her husband. He became aware of her lovers, accepted them and even developed friendships with some of them – making them "part of the family". Her daughter [[Pamela Hicks]] wrote a memoir in which she describes her mother as "a man eater" and her mother's many lovers as a succession of "uncles" throughout her childhood.<ref>[[Pamela Hicks]], ''Daughter of Empire: My Life as a Mountbatten'' - Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2012</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2019}} In her memoir Pamela describes Edwina as a detached, rarely seen mother who preferred travelling the world with her current lover to mothering her children.<ref>{{cite book|title=Daughter of Empire: My Life as a Mountbatten|author=Lady Pamela Hicks|isbn=978-0297864820|year=2013|publisher=Simon & Schuster}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2021}}

Her affair with [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], prime minister of India, both during and after their post-war service has been widely documented.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100410/saturday/main1.htm|title=A daughter's insight The Nehru-Edwina romance|last=Bhatia|first=Shyam|date=10 April 2010|work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]|access-date=15 June 2019}}</ref>

==Second World War==
At the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], Mountbatten acquired a new purpose. In 1941, she visited the United States, where she expressed gratitude for efforts to raise funds for the [[British Red Cross]] and [[St John Ambulance Brigade]]. In 1942, she was appointed Superintendent-in-Chief of the St John Ambulance Brigade, serving extensively. In 1945, she assisted in the repatriation of prisoners of war in the South East Asia. She was appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1943 and made a [[Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] (DCVO) in 1946. She also received the [[American Red Cross Medal]].<ref>[http://mountbattenofburma.com/page59.html Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma]</ref>

==Vicereine of India==
[[File:NehruEd.jpg|thumb|right|Prime Minister Nehru with Lady Mountbatten in 1951]]
Edwina Mountbatten was the last [[vicereine of India]], serving during the final months of the [[British Raj]] and the first months of the post-Partition period (February 1947 to June 1948) when Louis Mountbatten was the last [[viceroy of India]] and then, after the partition of India and Pakistan in June 1947, the [[governor-general of India]], but not of the [[Dominion of Pakistan]]. It was at this time that a serious relationship between Edwina Mountbatten and Nehru, the new [[prime minister of India]], began. Whether the romance was ever consummated is not known; however, their mutual fondness was evident and caused widespread speculation.<ref>{{cite book| title=Raj: the Making and Unmaking of British India | author-link =Lawrence James|first = Lawrence|last=James | publisher=Saint Martin's Griffin | year=1997| page=611}}</ref><ref>See [[Alex von Tunzelmann]]. ''[[Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire]]''. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2007.</ref> In 2012, Edwina's daughter, [[Lady Pamela Hicks]], accepted that there was a romance between her mother and Jawaharlal Nehru, which she mentioned in the book ''Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten''.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://m.aajtak.in/general-knowledge-in-hindi/history-general-knowledge-in-hindi/story/pamela-says-on-jawaharlal-nehru-and-edwina-mountbatten-relationship-943978-2017-07-30 |title=मां से प्यार करते थे नेहरू, शारीरिक संबंध नहीं थे: माउंटबेटन की बेटी |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/18/stories/2007071862131300.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070911163209/http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/18/stories/2007071862131300.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = 11 September 2007 |work = [[The Hindu]] |title = Pamela Mountbatten on the Jawaharlal-Edwina relationship |date = 18 July 2007}}</ref> British historian [[Philip Ziegler]], with access to the private letters and diaries, concludes the relationship:
:was to endure until Edwina Mountbatten's death: intensely loving, romantic, trusting, generous, idealistic, even spiritual. If there was any physical element it can only have been of minor importance to either party. Mountbatten's reaction was one of pleasure...He liked and admired Nehru, it was useful to him that the Prime Minister should find such attractions in the Governor-General's home, it was agreeable to find Edwina almost permanently in good temper: the advantages of the alliance were obvious.<ref>Philip Ziegler, ''Mountbatten'' (1985) p. 473.</ref>

[[File:Lady Mountbatten at Police Hospital, Delhi.jpg|thumb|left|Lady Mountbatten at Police Hospital, [[Delhi]], 1947]]
From 28 October 1947 onwards, Edwina Mountbatten was styled as the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, after her husband was elevated to an [[Earl Mountbatten of Burma|earldom]]. Following the violent disruption that accompanied the [[partition of India]], Lady Mountbatten's priority was to mobilise the enormous relief efforts required, work for which she was widely praised. After her viceroyalty in India, her public service included service for the [[St John Ambulance Brigade]]. She was a governor of [[The Peckham Experiment]] in 1949.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Bulletin of the Pioneer Centre|journal=Peckham|date=September 1949|volume=1|issue=5|url=http://www.sochealth.co.uk/1949/09/21/peckham/|access-date=21 October 2016}}</ref>

==Death==
Lady Mountbatten died in her sleep aged 58 of unknown causes on 21 February 1960 in [[Kota Kinabalu|Jesselton]] (now Kota Kinabalu), [[Crown Colony of North Borneo|North Borneo]] (now [[Sabah]]), while on an inspection tour for the [[St John Ambulance Brigade]].<ref name=smh21feb>{{cite news|title=Lady Mountbatten dies in sleep on visit to Borneo|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19600222&id=pbcyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4298,2221738|access-date=14 June 2013|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=21 February 1960|agency=Australian Associated Press|location=London}}</ref> In accordance with her wishes, she was buried at sea off the coast of [[Portsmouth]] from [[HMS Wakeful (1943)|HMS ''Wakeful'']] on 25 February 1960; [[Geoffrey Fisher]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], officiated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Her Grave The Sea 1960|url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/her-grave-the-sea|publisher=British Pathe}}</ref>
On learning of the news, [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] observed, "Dear Edwina, she always liked to make a splash."<ref>As quoted in ''The Straits Times'' [Singapore] (7 August 2000).</ref> Indian prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] had the [[Indian Navy]] frigate [[INS Trishul (F143)|INS ''Trishul'']] escort the ''Wakeful'' and cast a wreath.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1091101/jsp/opinion/story_11665506.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105042032/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091101/jsp/opinion/story_11665506.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 November 2009|title=A TASTE OF OTHER SUMMERS - Love may not be the only theme of the Nehru-Edwina letters}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Morgan|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Morgan, Lady Balfour of Burleigh|title=Edwina Mountbatten - A Life of Her Own|year=1992|publisher=Fontana|location=London|isbn=0006377874|page=481|chapter=Leave-taking}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hough|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Hough|title=Edwina - Countess Mountbatten of Burma|year=1983|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|location=London|isbn=0297782843|page=[https://archive.org/details/edwina00rich/page/217 217]|chapter='Love and Serve'|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/edwina00rich/page/217}}</ref> Her will was proven in London on 21 March 1960, with her estate valued for probate at £589,655 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|589655|1960|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}).<ref name="probate">{{Cite web |url=https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Mountbatten&yearOfDeath=1960&page=1#calendar |title=Countess Mountbatten of Burma, The Right Honourable Edwina Cynthia Annette C.I. G. B. E. D. C. V. O.|last= |date=1960 |website=probatesearchservice.gov |publisher=UK Government |access-date=1 March 2020}}</ref>

==Honours==
* Dame Commander of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] (DCVO) – 1 January 1946<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/37407/pages/12|title=The London Gazette, 1 January 1946}}</ref>
* Dame Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem]] (GCStJ: 1 January 1946;<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=37417|page=203|date=1 January 1946}}</ref> CStJ: 19 December 1928<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33453|page=49|date=19 December 1928}}</ref>)
* Lady of the Imperial [[Order of the Crown of India]] (CI) -21 February 1947
* Dame Grand Cross of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (GBE: 1 January 1948;<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38161|supp=25|date=1 January 1948}}</ref> CBE: 1 January 1943<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35841/pages/16|title=The London Gazette, 1 January 1943}}</ref>)
* [[Service Medal of the Order of St John]]

==In popular culture==
Lady Mountbatten of Burma has been portrayed by:
* [[Janet Suzman]] in the 1986 television drama ''[[Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy]]''
* [[Maria Aitken]] in the 1998 biographical film ''[[Jinnah (film)|Jinnah]]''<ref>{{imdb title|tt0183306|Jinnah (1998)}}</ref>
* [[Gillian Anderson]] in [[Gurinder Chadha]]'s drama film ''[[Viceroy's House (film)|Viceroy's House]]'' (2017)<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wiseman|first=Andreas|title=Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson topline partition drama 'Viceroy's House'|url= http://www.screendaily.com/news/bonneville-anderson-topline-partition-drama-viceroys-house/5087176.article |access-date=19 February 2016|newspaper=Screen Daily|date=30 April 2015}}</ref>
* [[Lucy Russell (actress)|Lucy Russell]] in series 2 of ''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]'' (2017)<ref>{{Citation|title="The Crown" Misadventure (TV Episode 2017)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6366744/fullcredits|access-date=2017-12-11}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

===Notes===
*{{cite book|title=Indian Summer The Secret History of the End of an Empire|publisher=Pocket Books|author=Alex von Tunzelmann|author-link=Alex von Tunzelmann}}

==Further reading==
* [[Janet Morgan, Lady Balfour of Burleigh|Morgan, Janet]] ''Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own'', Scribners, 1991. {{ISBN|978-0684193465}}
* [[Ziegler, Philip]], ''Mountbatten: the official biography'', Collins, 1985. {{ISBN|978-0006370475}}
* [[Hough, Richard]], ''Mountbatten: Hero of our time'', London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980. {{ISBN|978-0297786221}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma|Edwina Mountbatten}}
*[https://www.lordmountbattenofburma.com Tribute & Memorial Website to Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]
* {{NPG name|name=Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/012555}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountbatten, Edwina}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:British debutantes]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Crown of India]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Daughters of barons]]
[[Category:Mountbatten family|Edwina]]
[[Category:Burials at sea]]
[[Category:British people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:People from Test Valley]]
[[Category:Ashley-Cooper family|Edwina]]
[[Category:Viceregal consorts of India]]
[[Category:Wives of knights]]

Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma - Revision history

Ankitasharma at 07:25, 11 March 2026

WikiDwarf: Creating Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma