Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma

The Right Honourable The Countess Mountbatten of Burma CI GBE DCVO
Mountbatten in the uniform of the St John Ambulance Brigade
Viceregal-Consort of India
In office 21 February 1947 – 21 June 1948
Monarch	George VI
Governor- General	The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma
Personal details
Born	Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley (1901-11-28)28 November 1901 London, England[1]
Died	21 February 1960(1960-02-21) (aged 58) Jesselton, Crown Colony of North Borneo
Resting place	Off the coast of Portsmouth
Spouse	Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma ​ ​ (m. 1922)​
Children	Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma Lady Pamela Hicks
Parents	Wilfrid Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple Maud Cassel

Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (née Ashley; 28 November 1901 – 21 February 1960),^[2] was an English heiress, socialite, and relief worker. As the wife of Rear Admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, she served as the last vicereine of India during the reign of George VI. She was a close relative by marriage to the British royal family. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1943 and a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1946 for her efforts with the St John Ambulance Brigade and the British Red Cross during World War II.

Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley was born on 28 November 1901, the elder daughter of Wilfrid Ashley (later 1st Baron Mount Temple).^[3] Her younger sister was Mary Ashley (Lady Delamere). Patrilineally, she was a great-granddaughter of the reformist 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. Edwina's mother, Amalia Mary Maud Cassel (1880–1911), 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'.^[4] 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 inheritance from him.^{[citation needed]}

Edwina Ashley first met Louis Mountbatten, a relative of the British royal family and a nephew of Empress Alexandra of Russia, at a ball at Claridge's hotel in October 1920.^[5] By this time, she was a leading member within London society.

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 Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, and the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), who served as the groom's best man. It was dubbed "wedding of the year".^[6] There followed a honeymoon tour of European royal courts and America which included a visit to Niagara Falls (because "all honeymooners went there").^[7] 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.^[8]

Following the death of her maternal grandfather in 1921, Edwina inherited a life interest in a Trust Fund created from a 25/64 share of her grandfather's residuary estate (estimated at £7,330,000 - equivalent to about £390 million in 2023); the net amount left in trust to Edwina amounted to approximately £1,600,000 after the deduction of specific bequests, administration costs and death duties.^[9]

Edwina also inherited her grandfather's palatial London townhouse, Brook House, at a time when her future husband's salary as Royal Navy lieutenant^[10] was £310 a year (equivalent to £16,400 in 2023^[11]), which was doubled by his private income.^[12] Later, she inherited the country seat of Broadlands, Hampshire, from her father, Lord Mount Temple.^[13] During the 1930s, the couple enjoyed a combined before-tax income of £113,000.^[14] Edwina's husband Lord Mountbatten reportedly confided to their older daughter that the couple sometimes struggled to spend their £60,000 post-tax annual income during the years prior to the Second World War.

By the end of the Second World War in Europe, the highest rate of income tax in Great Britain had risen to 19s 6d on £1 (97.5%), which reduced the post-tax income Lord and Lady Mountbatten enjoyed from the latter's trust fund to £4,500. The Mountbattens sought a Private members' bills in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and in 1949 the "Mountbatten Estate Bill" was introduced to the British Parliament to amend the terms of the Edwina's Trust Fund to remove the restrictions her grandfather's will placed on her borrowing on the capital assets or anticipation of future income from her Trust. The justification for the bill was made on the basis that Lord and Lady Mountbatten undertook an exceptionally large number of public duties which they argued as a significant drain on their private wealth. In an address to the House of Lords committee, Edwina's representative Sir Walter Monckton KC noted that Edwina had enjoyed a post-tax income of about £40,000 prior to the War.^[15]

Following Edwina's death in 1960, her gross personal estate was valued at £589,655, with a net value of £478,618.^[16] From this amount death duties of £333,153 were levied on her personal estate; Mountbatten reportedly complained to friends that his net inheritance from his wife's estate would equate to about 1 shilling on the pound (5%); each of her daughters received 7.5% of her personal estate after the payment of death duties.^[17] The valuation of Edwina's Trust fund was taxed separately to her personal estate, with the Trustees being responsible for paying tax from the Trust's assets; unlike her personal fortune, probate of her Trust fund was not required to be published.^[9]

After the outbreak of the Second World War, Mountbatten 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 Southeast Asia. She was appointed a CBE in 1943 and made a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO) in 1946. She also received the American Red Cross Medal.^[18]

In 1943, Mountbatten was appointed president of the animal welfare organization Our Dumb Friends' League.^[19]

At a rally in Singapore, Edwina was knocked over in a surge of people, prompting Jawaharlal Nehru and Louis Mountbatten to link arms and push through the crowd to help her. The incident led to the three dining together, and as Louis Mountbatten recalled, they "talked about everything under the sun," marking the start of their friendship. Shortly afterwards, Mountbatten became the last Viceroy of India, and this newly formed friendship played a pivotal role in the final phase of the British Empire in India.^[20]

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.

From 28 October 1947 onwards, Edwina Mountbatten was styled as the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, after her husband was elevated to an 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. She also organised cholera vaccinations and sanitation facilities for the Indians.^[21]

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.^[22]

The Mountbattens had two daughters, Patricia (14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) and Pamela (born 19 April 1929).^[23] Drew Pearson described Edwina in 1944 as "one of the most beautiful women in England".^[24]

Edwina and her sister-in-law, the Marchioness of Milford Haven (wife of Lord Milford Haven), were extremely close friends and the two frequently went together on rather daring adventures, travelling rough in difficult and often dangerous parts of the world.^[25]

Lady Mountbatten died in her sleep aged 58 of unknown causes on 21 February 1960 in Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), North Borneo (now Sabah), while on an inspection tour for the St John Ambulance Brigade.^[26] In accordance with her wishes, she was buried at sea off the coast of Portsmouth from HMS Wakeful on 25 February 1960; Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated.^[27] On learning of the news, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother observed, "Dear Edwina, she always liked to make a splash."^[28] Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had the Indian Navy frigate INS Trishul, already stationed in the city for repair for weeks, to escort the Wakeful and cast a wreath.^[29][30][31] Her will was proven in London on 21 March 1960, with her estate valued for probate at £589,655 (equivalent to £15.2 million in 2023^[11]).^[32]

• Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO) – 1 January 1946^[33]
• Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (Dame Grand Cross: 1 January 1946;^[34] Commander: 19 December 1928^[35]
• 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;^[36] CBE: 1 January 1943^[37]
• Service Medal of the Order of St John
• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal^[38]
• King George VI Coronation Medal^[38]
• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal^[39]

Lady Mountbatten of Burma has been portrayed by:

• Jane Myerson in the 1982 epic biographical film Gandhi
• Janet Suzman in the 1986 television drama Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy
• Maria Aitken in the 1998 biographical film Jinnah^[40]
• Gillian Anderson in Gurinder Chadha's drama film Viceroy's House (2017)^[41]
• Lucy Russell in series 2 of The Crown (2017)^[42]

Notes

• Alex von Tunzelmann. Indian Summer The Secret History of the End of an Empire. Pocket Books.

Citations

• 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

• Tribute & Memorial Website to Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Archived 18 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Portraits of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• Newspaper clippings about Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW