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Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma

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The Countess Mountbatten of Burma
Edwina and her husband, early 1920s
BornEdwina Cynthia Annette Ashley
(1901-11-28)28 November 1901
Broadlands, Romsey Extra, Hampshire, England, UK
Died21 February 1960(1960-02-21) (aged 58)
Jesselton, British North Borneo
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1922; d. 1960)​
IssuePatricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma
Lady Pamela Hicks
ParentsWilfred William Ashley
Amalia Mary Maud Cassel

Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, GBE, DCVO, GCStJ, CI (28 November 1901 – 21 February 1960)[1] was an English heiress, socialite, relief-worker, wife of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and last Vicereine of India.

Lineage and wealth

Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma was born Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley in 1901, the elder daughter of Wilfred William Ashley, later 1st Baron Mount Temple (of the 1932 creation), who was a Conservative Member of Parliament.

Edwina Ashley was patrilineally descended from the Earls of Shaftesbury who had been ranked as baronets since 1622 and ennobled as barons in 1661. 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 Beaufort. From this cadet branch, the Ashley-Cooper peers would inherit the estates of Broadlands, and Classiebawn Castle in Sligo, Ireland.

Ashley's mother was Amalia Mary Maud Cassel (1879–1911), daughter of the international magnate Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, friend and private financier to the future King Edward VII. Cassel was one of the richest and most powerful men in Europe. He lost his beloved wife (Annette Mary Maud Maxwell), for whom he had converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism. He also lost his only child, Amalia. He was then to leave the bulk of his vast fortune to Edwina, his elder granddaughter.

After Ashley's 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. 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. Later, his other mansions, Moulton Paddocks and Branksome Dene, would become part of her Cassel inheritance.

Marriage and children

By the time Lord Louis Mountbatten first met Edwina in 1920, she was a leading member of London society. Her maternal grandfather died in 1921, leaving her £2 million (£112 million in today's pounds), and his palatial London townhouse, Brook House, at a time when her future husband's naval salary was £610 per annum (£30,000 in today's pounds). Later, she would inherit the country seat of Broadlands, Hampshire, from her father, Wilfred William Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple.

She and Mountbatten married on 18 July 1922 at Saint Margaret's church. The wedding attracted crowds of more than 8,000 people, and was attended by many members of the royal family, including Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, David the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) and Prince Philip, and dubbed "wedding of the year". The reception was held in Brook House after which the couple rode a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost to the bride's family's country house.[2]

The Mountbattens had two daughters, Patricia (born 14 February 1924) and Pamela (born 19 April 1929).[3]

Vicereine of India

Mountbattens with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder and first Governor General of Pakistan

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Lady Mountbatten 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, when five provinces were partitioned off as Pakistan as a result of a movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Lady Mountbatten at Police Hospital, Delhi

Lord and Lady Mountbatten served as the last Viceroy and Vicereine of pre-Partition India, after the British government gave him plenipotentiary power to arrange the independence of British 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.

Lady Mountbatten, in all accounts of the violent disruption that followed the Partition of India, is universally praised for her heroic efforts in relieving the misery. She continued to lead a life of service after her viceroyalty in India, including service for the St John Ambulance Brigade.

Death

Lady Mountbatten died in her sleep at age 58 of unknown causes in 1960 in Jesselton, British North Borneo while on an inspection tour for the St John Ambulance Brigade.[4] In accordance with her wishes, Lord Mountbatten buried her at sea off the coast of Portsmouth from HMS Wakeful on 25 February 1960; Nehru sent two Indian destroyers to accompany her body; Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated.[5]

Edwina will be portrayed by Gillian Anderson in Gurinder Chadha's upcoming historical drama film Viceroy's House.[6]

Titles and honours

Shorthand titles

  • 28 November 1901 – 18 July 1922: Miss Edwina Ashley
  • 18 July 1922 – 23 August 1946: Lady Louis Mountbatten
  • 23 August 1946 – 28 October 1947: The Right Honourable The Viscountess Mountbatten of Burma
    • 12 February – 15 August 1947: Her Excellency The Right Honourable The Viscountess Mountbatten of Burma, Vicereine of India
  • 28 October 1947 – 21 February 1960: The Right Honourable The Countess Mountbatten of Burma

Honours

Ancestry

Family of Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma
16. Cropley Ashley-Cooper, 6th Earl of Shaftesbury
8. Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
17. Anne Spencer
4. Anthony Evelyn Ashley
18. Peter Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper
9. Emily Clavering-Cowper
19. Emily Mary Lamb
2. Wilfrid Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple
20. Thomas Farquhar, 2nd Baronet
10. Walter Farquhar, 3rd Baronet
21. Sybella Martha Rockliffe
5. Sybella Charlotte Farquhar
22. Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort
11. Mary Octavia Somerset
23. Charlotte Sophia Leveson-Gower
1. Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma
24. Moses Cassel
12. Jacob Cassel
25. Gudula Wolf
6. Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel
26. Joseph Rosenheim
13. Amalia Rosenheim
27. Mina Cohen
3. Amalia Mary Cassel
28. Maxwell
14. Robert Thompson Maxwell
29.
7. Annette Mary Maxwell
30. Wilson
15. Margaret Wilson
31.
  • Lady Mountbatten speaking on behalf of the Red Cross at the Central Bandstand, Herne Bay, Kent, England around 1939
    Lady Mountbatten speaking on behalf of the Red Cross at the Central Bandstand, Herne Bay, Kent, England around 1939
  • Mahatma Gandhi, preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India with Lord and Lady Mountbatten outside Government House, New Delhi, 1947
    Mahatma Gandhi, preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India with Lord and Lady Mountbatten outside Government House, New Delhi, 1947
  • Mahatma Gandhi with Lord and Lady Mountbatten outside Government House, New Delhi, 1947
    Mahatma Gandhi with Lord and Lady Mountbatten outside Government House, New Delhi, 1947
  • Mahatma Gandhi with Mountbattens
    Mahatma Gandhi with Mountbattens
  • Mountbattens in Government House, New Delhi at swearing-in of Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of independent India
    Mountbattens in Government House, New Delhi at swearing-in of Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of independent India
  • Countess Mountbatten pictured with the Officer Commanding 78 Wing RAAF, Group Captain Brian A Eaton DSO, DFC of Canterbury, Vic, after the Anzac Day service in Malta. The Wing was stationed in Malta for garrison
    Countess Mountbatten pictured with the Officer Commanding 78 Wing RAAF, Group Captain Brian A Eaton DSO, DFC of Canterbury, Vic, after the Anzac Day service in Malta. The Wing was stationed in Malta for garrison

References

  1. ^ GRO Register of Births: MAR 1902 1a 434 ST GEO HAN SQ = London
  2. ^ Von Tunzelmann, p.71
  3. ^ Von Tunzelmann, p.73
  4. ^ "Lady Mountbatten dies in sleep on visit to Borneo". The Sydney Morning Herald. London. AAP. 21 February 1960. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Her Grave The Sea 1960". British Pathe.
  6. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (30 April 2015). "Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson topline partition drama 'Viceroy's House'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  7. ^ London Gazette, 1 January 1946
  8. ^ London Gazette, 1 January 1946
  9. ^ London Gazette, 1 January 1929
  10. ^ London Gazette, 1 January 1948
  11. ^ The London Gazette, 1 January 1943

Notes

Further reading

  • Morgan, Janet P. 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 Alexander, Mountbatten: Hero of our time, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980. ISBN 978-0297786221
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