Mountbatten: The Private Story

by Brian Hoey (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.27

  Lord Louis Mountbatten accepted the Japanese surrender in 1945, was the last Viceroy of India, and was murdered by the IRA. Behind the public acclaim which his wartime achievements brought him, he had vanity and a controversial lifestyle. He had influential connections with the Royal Family but made many enemies, including Winston Churchill, who never forgave him for his part in giving away India , while courtiers in the Royal Household disliked him for his arrogance and interference. Both Mountbatten and his wife were widely known to have had numerous affairs, but this was rarely spoken of outside their circle. He was an egotistical man, fascinated by Royalty and his own relationship to the Royal Family, and delighted in being seen with celebrities. His biographer, Brian Hoey, knew Mountbatten for ten years and interviewed him on radio and television. Hoey talked to many in the Royal Household, and also to Prince Philip, Prince Michael of Kent and King Constantine of Greece about their memories of Mountbatten. Both of Mountbatten's daughters, and his grandchildren also agreed to speak.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1994

  $3.27

  Earl Mountbatten of Burma has always been regarded as a leading figure in British public life and the Royal Family. During World War II he was Chief of the Combined Staff in the invasion of Europe and Supreme Allied Commander in the Far East. He accepted Japanese surrender and returned to Britain as a war hero. He then became Viceroy of India and after the war joined the Labour cabinet of Clement Attlee. But there are many things about Mountbatten that are not so well known - for instance his obsession with his influence on the royal family has never been fully explored or explained. Churchill could not stand him personally. He was arguably the vainest man who ever lived. His marriage was a successful if open one, both Mountbatten and his wife conducting extra-marital affairs and his bisexual appetites were fairly widely known.