Lord Mountbatten: Commentators discuss diary lawsuit

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

The late royal was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and the third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He was also the uncle of the late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and a mentor to his son, Prince Charles. Mountbatten was appointed as the last Viceroy of British India, and also served as an officer in the Royal Navy. The royal was assassinated by IRA terrorists in 1979, as his boat was blown up off the coast of Ireland.

Mountbatten’s illustrious naval career is well-documented, but Philip’s uncle still courted controversy, especially in his marriage to Edwina.

A new Channel 5 documentary, ‘The Mountbattens: A Scandalous Marriage’, is broadcast tonight.

Long before the modern royal scandals that were to follow, the couple hit the headlines with their tumultuous relationship.

Each of the pair had extramarital affairs, which were once summed up pithily by Mountbatten himself.

He said: “Edwina and I spent all our married lives getting into other people’s beds.”

JUST IN: Princess Charlene’s only ally in Monaco exposed as she step up to support struggling twins

The line is quoted by Philip Ziegler in his 1985 book, ‘Mountbatten: The Official Biography’.

Mountbatten’s daughter Lady Pamela Hicks claimed in her 2012 book ‘Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten’ that her father had been having an affair with Yola Letellier, the wife of French newspaper owner, Henri Letellier.

Andrew Lownie also claimed in his 2019 book ‘The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves’ that Edwina had started having affairs just three years after she and Mountbatten got married in 1922, while she was said to have had as many as 18 affairs in total.

She was reported to have had a 10-month romance with Hugh Molyneux, the seventh Earl of Sefton.

However, one of her most high-profile lovers was Jawaharlal Nehru, the former Prime Minister of India.

The Indian leader, who was 10 years older than her, would reportedly write her long love letters.

According to Mr Lownie, Mountbatten once wrote his own letter to his wife about their love life.

It was said to have read: “I wish I knew how to flirt with other women, and especially with my wife.

DON’T MISS: 
Lady Louise Windsor to ‘change her mind’ and take on official princess title from Queen [LATEST]
Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles on exposed affair with Charles: ‘P***** off’ [INSIGHT]
Paul O’Grady’s strange royal encounter with Camilla: ‘Dressed as Child Catcher’ [ANALYSIS]

“I wish I had sown many more wild oats in my youth and could excite you more than I fear I do.”

Philip’s uncle eventually agreed to an open marriage with Edwina as details of their private lives made their way into the press.

He reportedly took it extremely badly when he first realised his wife was being unfaithful, according to the couple’s daughter Pamela.

She said: “When my father first heard that she had taken a lover, he was devastated.

“But eventually, using their reserves of deep mutual affection, my parents managed to negotiate a way through this crisis and found a modus vivendi (way of life).”

‘The Mountbattens: A Scandalous Marriage’ airs on Channel 5 tonight from 9:25pm-10:25pm.

Source: Read Full Article