There are some extraordinary revelations particularly during his career in the Royal Navy. The book is fascinating in its description of their wealthy life style – which might sound dated – but in fact due to the growing inequality in the UK could well be replicated today by some of the uber wealthy from Russian oligarchs, Hong Kong billionaires, tech billionaires rather than Royalty. Interestingly the Northern Ireland Office still hasn’t released all the documents about this home even though the events took place over 50 years ago.

It also contains an extraordinary chapter entitled ” Rumours” which goes on to suggest that he may also have been a paedophile, It describes claims by a former boy, Richard Kerr who was in the notorious Kincora children’s home in Belfast, where it is proven that boys were subject to child sexual abuse, that MountBatten abused him. The book describes his loves which in their ” open marriage” and reveals that he was also bisexual after tracing one of his gay lovers.

Until World War II she lived the life of a bored heiress making exotic trips to remote places before finding an amazing drive to help with the war effort organising and looking after the interests of the troops injured in action. It goes into detail of the love life of his wife, Edwina, a wealthy socialite, whose adventurous affairs took in Hollywood film stars and India’s first leader, Nehru when Lord Mountbatten was the last governor general of India. What emerges is a complicated man who is full of hubris, self importance, a natural risk taker whose life was privileged, setting himself,apart from the rest of society with his retinue of household staff. It draws on previously unknown information – despite many previous biographies – and still does not present a complete picture because of decisions by the British government, the United States government and his own estate at Broadlands not to release all the documents relevant to his life. This biography written by historian Andrew Lownie is full of warts as well as some startling disclosures. As Mountbatten himself once said ” No biography has any value unless it is written with warts and all.” It is a story of one of the leading figures in Royal circles, friend of Edward VIII and mentor to Prince Charles, whose life was cut short when he and some of his closest relatives were murdered by the IRA in 1979.īut it is no eulogy for a Royal figure whose Christian name lives on in the names of two of the Duke of Cambridge’s children.

The mountbattens