MOUNTBATTENS:

Mountbatten described himself as the "the best-known figure the Navy has produced since Lord Nelson" and his wife Edwina was not far behind, known to gossip columnists for her wealth and an ever-changing cavalcade of lovers. Less public was the suspicion of Mountbatten's homosexuality, to which the author devotes a chapter of recent evidence. On the fringes of the Royal Family and with the freedom associated with the Navy, Dickie frequently challenged the values and codes of his class. In young manhood Dickie's closeness to the Prince of Wales, later to abdicate as Edward VIII in order to marry Wallis Simpson, established him in royal circles, although the pair were not enthusiastic about Wallis. Their marriage was the subject of much public interest from the first, with Edwina's wedding lingerie featured in the press. Edwina soon felt trapped and established her own coterie of admirers, known as her "ginks", when Dickie was away of naval service, and her close friend Jean Norton was married but known to be having an affair with Max Beaverbrook. Finally Dickie confronted Edwina and they agreed to an open marriage in which both were free to have other partners. Yola Letellier was Dickie's principal long-term mistress, while Edwina's lovers included one known as the "Cuban Heel", and also reportedly the singer Paul Robeson. The outbreak of war in 1939 was in different ways the making of both Dickie and Edwina. As commander of HMS Kelly, Dickie's judgement was called into question, but he went on to become Head of Combined Operations for the Invasion of France. Edwina was acutely aware of her Jewish heritage and threw herself into work with refugees. As the last Viceroy of India Mountbatten achieved international recognition and in later years his mentoring of the then Prince Charles was not without controversy. 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 by the IRA in 1979? 490pp, photos.