September 23, 2019
New Delhi: A new book on Louis Mountbatten and Edwina Mountbatten provides a ‘scandalous’ account of their private lives. The Mountbattens: Their Lives & Loves authored by British historian Andrew Lownie, talks about Lord Mountbatten’s alleged paedophilia, his gay flings, the couple’s open marriage with a stream of extra-marital affairs, the royal family’s displeasure with the Mountbattens’ private lives and public spectacles about their tussle with the press.
Based on several sources such as interviews, news articles and a dossier on the Mountbattens by the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the book comes just ahead of the 40th anniversary of Lord Mountbatten’s assassination at the hands of the IRA.
ThePrint looks at some of the claims made by the new book on the Mountbattens.
Was Dickie Mountbatten a paedophile?
Since the release of the book, global press has hotly debated the possibility of Lord Mountbatten being a paedophile.
Mountbatten, who was referred to as Dickie by his close ones, seems to have allegedly been a serial offender when it came to child sexual abuse.
While his paedophilia has been previously reported, this account by Lownie lists several sources to back its claim.
The book cites a 1987 article in the New Zealand’s tabloid Truth, which drew the testimony of Mountbatten’s then driver, Norman Nield. Back then, Mountbatten was the Admiral of the Royal Navy.
Nield reveals that he was ordered to “take young boys to Admiral’s official residence” in Dickie’s Hummer, and was paid 5 pounds per week for his silence. According to Nield, the Admiral used “brandy and lemonade” to seduce children and the boys ranged from the ages of eight to twelve.
Another published article by Irish writer Robin Bryans talks about Mountbatten being a part of an “old-boy networks that held orgies”. It also talked about his interest in “first year public school boys”, who must have been “10 to 14” year olds.
Lownie writes that while these accounts were denied by the Mountbatten family, more revelations have emerged since.
Two people, who have recently written under the pseudonyms “Sean” and “Amal” reveal how, in 1977, they were driven from Kincora Boys School in Belfast, Northern Ireland to Classiebawn Castle. At the castle, Dickie would have oral sex with them. They mention that several boys from their school were “summoned” by Dickie.
Amal wrote that Dickie would express his liking for “dark-skinned” boys, “especially Sri Lankans”.
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