Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, was charged with overseeing the transition from British India to independent India by 30th June, 1948. On his arrival he realised the situation is too volatile to wait for too long and decided to grant independence to India sooner rather than later. In the process he even split India into India and Pakistan.

The affair between Lord Mountbatten’s wife, Edwina and Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of Independent India is no secret. In an article that called Mountbatten “man-eater”, dailymail.co.uk recounted how Mountbatten fell in love with Nehru and how her promiscuity took a toll on her children. According to Lady Mountbatten’s daughter Pamela, ‘She found in Panditji [Nehru] the companionship and equality of spirit and intellect that she craved. Each helped overcome loneliness in the other.’

This has now found its way into the popular Netflix series The Crown, created by British writer Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television. The Crown is a historical drama that chronicles life of Queen Elizabeth from her younger days to her reign and gives a glimpse into the personal life of the royals. Lord Mountbatten was also the uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth. There are a few references to Lord Mountbatten and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

In first season’s first episode, during the wedding ceremony of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at first Winston Churchill appears to be referring to Lord Mountbatten as the man who gave away India. In the same sequence, few other people too say the same.



“Oh, it is Lord Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle. The man who gave away India, and his own wife. Cuckolded by Nehru, if you please. Cuckold is the husband of the wife who has cheated on him with another man.

Read: How Jawaharlal Nehru used Indian Navy assets not just for vacation, but to ‘pay respects’ to Edwina Mountbatten after she died

In second season, Lord Mountbatten is appearing to accept the affair his wife had with Jawaharlal Nehru to Queen Elizabeth.

In the above video, one can see Lord Mountbatten speaking to his niece-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, about the ‘wild spirit’ she married to. He says he knew it because he was married to one too. “Trying to tame them is no use. There were times in India, it was all right under my nose, with Nehru of all people, my opposite number,” actor playing Lord Mountbatten said. “The humiliation could not have been more complete,” he said.