The Mountbattens

Dickie Mountbatten: The figure behind his nephew Philip's marriage to Queen Elizabeth II and instrumental in them taking the Mountbatten name, he was a Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and the last Viceroy of India. Edwina Mountbatten: Once the richest woman in Britain and a playgirl who enjoyed numerous affairs, she emerged from World War II as a talented humanitarian worker loved around the world. From British high society to the South of France, from the battlefields of Burma to the Viceroy's House, The Mountbattens is a rich story of a powerful partnership, revealing the truth behind a carefully curated legend. Was Mountbatten one of the outstanding leaders of his generation, or a man over-promoted because of his royal birth and ruthless self-promotion? What is the true story behind controversies such as the Dieppe Raid and Indian Partition, the love affair between Edwina and Nehru, and Mountbatten's assassination in 1979? Based on over 100 interviews, research from dozens of archives and new information released under Freedom of Information requests, historian Andrew Lownie sheds new light on this remarkable couple.