#lord mountbatten

[tempting-seduction]

Admiral of the Fleet Albert Victor Nicholas Louis Francis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British statesman, naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family.

[princessanneftw]

Princess Anne at the opening of The Run Run Shaw Theatre at 195 Piccadilly on 8 March 1978

[downton-bridgerton]

Hugh Bonneville + being a soft DILF an adorkable human being [8/?] || Viceroy's House Behind the Scenes (x)

[royally-obsessed]

on this day in 1979

The Funeral of Lord Mountbatten

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, and other members of the British royal family attending the funeral of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma at Westminster Abbey in London on 5th September 1979. Lord Mountbatten was killed when a bomb, planted by the IRA, blew up his fishing boat off the coast of County Sligo, Ireland on 27th August 1979.

[ladygoehnio]

little dickie & his mutter princess victoria of hesse and by rhine in a field of daisies🌼

[blackswaneuroparedux]

My trophy value exceeded my military usefulness.

- Lord Mountbatten

Louis Mountbatten, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, in full evening dress with decorations. Decorations are worn at certain formal events. They are usually only seen at military daytime occasions, or highly formal and ceremonial evening events.

Historically the most formal variant of full evening dress or "white tie" included knee breeches. They are worn only with evening pumps. Lord Mountbatten here wears, among other decorations, the Order of the Garter, the highest order of British chivalry, displaying not only the sash, but also the garter itself on his left leg, requiring the breeches to make it visible.

[heavyarethecrowns]

On his Stag Night

Prince Philip Spam

[justdonotaskmewhy]

The Crown fact-checked. Part 1/60

Before we begin I have to say a few words:

I understand that The Crown is a work of fiction and my goal is not to say "It's all lies!", we know it is full of stuff that has never happened, I just want to "do my own research" and see which facts were changed

I will try to be as unbiased as I possibly can. I can't promise you will like my stuff or agree with me, but my thoughts are just my thoughts, you can always decide for yourself

This being said, let's start our journey

Season 1. Episode 1. Wolferton Splash

King George's VI illness

The Crown's opening scene is that of the king spitting blood and coughing heavily. This theme of illness is recurring for the rest of the episode.

King George VI was a heavy smoker. The cigarettes were rather cheap after war and it is no wonder he developed such an unhealthy habit. Note: i phrased it badly but he started smoking much earlier than after the war ended, the cigarettes were just cheaper so it was even easier for him to get access to smoking.

Due to his smoking he had a lung cancer and coronary artery disease. Both of his illnesses appeared in the series.

2. Prince Philip renounces his royal titles

The series is true to the reality here. On the eve of his wedding to princess Elizabeth Prince Philip renounced his "foreign titles" of Greece and Denmark and was styled as "His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh,  Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in the County of London"

3. King stutters

It is no surprise to anyone who has ever watched "The King's Speech". King George stuttered ever since he was a child and attended speech therapy to get rid of it. He almost get rid of it and it is hard to notice it in his public speeches. You can listen to this if you're interested, the real speech King George VI delivered on September 3rd, 1939 addressing Britain's involvement in World War II.

4. Prince Philip gave up smoking because princess Elizabeth couldn't stand it

As any loving daughter would be, princess Elizabeth was preoccupied by her father's health. Seeing that smoking did not do him any good, she insisted prince Philip should give up the habit. He did and some sources state he didn't smoke once after his wedding day.

5. Limericks

As fun as it may sound the king was fond of dirty limericks. However The Crown faced a controversy as the king says the word "cunt" in the opening episode.

The full limerick is as follows:

There was an old Countess of Bray,

And you might think it odd when I say,

That despite her high station, rank and education.

She always spelled "Cunt" with a K!

6. Princess Margaret at princess Elizabeth's wedding

Princess Margaret was one of princess Elizabeth's bridesmaids. However she was shorter than her sister (Elizabeth was 163 cm tall, Princess Margaret was 155 cm).

7. Winston Churchill at princess Elizabeth's wedding. I Vow To Thee My Country

He and his wife attended the wedding and, in fact, caused a "false alarm" of applause by their arrival as everyone thought it was the princess who was cheered with such an enthusiasm.

However I Vow To Thee My Country apparently never played upon his arrival. But This song is indeed regarded as synonymous with Churchill, and it played at his funeral.

8. Hatred towards Mountbattens

Lord Louis Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of British India. In 1947 the partition of Pakistan was inevitable but it resulted in a blood bath. Million was killed, 15 millions were displaced.

Churchill was unsatisfied with Mountbatten's hurry to operate the situation and called it "a shameful flight" which was shown in The Crown.

9. Peter Townsend

Group Captain Peter Townsend was an equerry to King George VI. He indeed had an affair with Princess Margaret, the king's youngest daughter.

A gross fact but may I remind you: he was 33 and she was 17 in 1947 when their romance presumably began. We will discuss it further in later posts.

10. Nazis and the British Royal family

The British Royal family is notorious for its connections to nazis. We are not going to talk about Edward and Wallace (because we will talk about them later), but Prince Philip had four sisters, all of whom married members of the German aristocracy—three of those men became Nazis. One sister, Princess Theodora married Berthold, Margrave of Baden; they tried to keep their distance from Nazism.

His eldest sister, Princess Margarita, married Gottfried, the 8th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg—a German aristocrat who joined the Nazi party and served in World War II. He was involved in Operation Valkyrie, the plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. 

Princess Cecilie, another sister, married German aristocrat Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse. They joined the Nazis in May 1937, but died in a plane crash months later. At her funeral, Prince Philip marched with their relatives who wore Nazi uniforms.

His youngest sister, Princess Sophie, married Prince Christoph of Hesse, an Oberführer in the Nazi Party and a director in the Third Reich's Ministry of Air Forces. Sophie said in her memoir of Hitler, "I have to say here, that, although Chri [Prince Chrisoph] and I changed our political view fundamentally some years later, we were impressed by this charming and seemingly modest man, and by his plans to change and improve the situation in Germany."

It is worth mentioning that Philip served Britain during World War II and did not himself support the nazi regime.

11. The royal family was against princess Elizabeth's marriage to Philip

It indeed happened but for an unexpected reason. Royal courtiers said that prince Philip "was too funny and had too many gaffes".

12. Lilibet

Lilibet was a nickname for princess Elizabeth. It is said that it was given by Princess Margaret who couldn't pronounce "Elizabeth" at a young age. Now it is prince Harry's daughter name, what a sweet continuity.

i stand corrected: according to this source its origin can be different. Elizabeth used to call herself Lilibet when she was a toddler.

13. Waving

Royalty way much slower than everyone else. This waving is easy to recognise, you've seen it multiple times. It is supposed that this particular style is safer for articulations, and this can be one of the reasons they wave like they do.

14. Princess Elizabeth's passion for filming

Though it is not clear whether she liked filming herself, she was clearly fond of watching clips filmed by her family members as it was shown in "Queen at 90"

15. Princess Margaret smoking habits

Princess Margaret had a reputation of a heavy smoker. Rightfully so, as she could smoke up to 60 cigarettes a day. Allegedly she started smoking in 1952 after the death of her father (she was 21 at the time). Smoking excessively could be a sign of untreated depression and mental health troubles which we will discuss in later posts.

Side note: Margaret's smoking was first noticed in her late teens when she became famous on the party circuit for her turtle shell cigarette holder.

16. King's operation

The operation to remove the lung indeed took place at the Buckingham Palace.

When the King's chest was suspected as the cause of his ill health, Sir John called in Geoffrey Marshall, 64, an expert on lung diseases, and Sir Robert Arthur Young, 80, grand old man of British chest experts. X rays by Radiologist Peter James Kerley and others showed what seemed to be a growth in the left lung. Australian-born Brigadier Sir Thomas Peel Dunhill, 75, who enjoys the title of Sergeant Surgeon to the King, agreed that an operation was necessary. The doctors decided that another Welshman, Chest Surgeon Clement Price Thomas, was the man to do the surgery.

17. Princess Elizabeth's curtsy to her mother and grandmother

A sweet gesture and a nice tradition to show respect which lasts up until this day.

Here is a clip of prince Harry bowing to his grandmother followed by kissing her on both cheeks.

18. Churchill elected the second time

Churchill became PM for a second time on October 26th, 1951. Fun fact: it happened month away from his 77th birthday.

19. Princess Elizabeth's Commonwealth tour

As the following episode will show the prince and the princess were on Commonwealth tour in 1952 when they received the news of king George's VI sudden death. They were in Kenya when it happened.

20. Carolers at Sandringham

Even though I can't find any reliable source about this scene, it is a decent metaphor. The king who learnt he is dying welcomes villagers who offer him a crown.

They sing "In a Bleak Midwinter" which I highly recommend to listen to closely.

The poem was written by an English poet Christina Rosetti.

What can I give Him, Poor as I am? — If I were a Shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man I would do my part, — Yet what I can I give Him, — Give my heart.

21. Prince Philip and Navy

Prince Philip's naval career began when he was 17. The Duke of Edinburgh’s active naval career ended as a commander in January 1953, after almost 14 years.

Despite his retirement from active service, Prince Philp remained both interested and involved in the Naval Service through official visits, patronage of, and association with, naval charities and clubs.

Useful links:

[ykzzr]

Little Dickie with his bear 1904. A childhood photo of Prince Louis Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

[camillafanfiction]

Love changes everything - Chapter 9

03.12.1975, Buckingham Palace

“I don’t see any use in this, Philip!,” Queen Elizabeth said firmly, her eyes on her husband, and put her china cup down. “Why should we send him away again? He has just settled in so nicely again. He seems to be very content these days and, dare I say it, it makes me rather happy to see.”  

The middle-aged duke crinkled his nose, he wasn’t quite used to getting backchats from his wife. “He’s still a sissy,” he stated harshly, showing as less affection for his eldest son as he had. “Dickie and I just think it’d be best - for him and the country, Elizabeth.”

“Oh right, Dickie again!” Elizabeth’s face darkened. She knew of her husband’s close relationship with his uncle and the particular affection Lord Mountbatten seemed to hold for her son Charles - and vice versa. She herself, like her mother, had never thought as highly of him as her husband and didn’t quite get what Charles saw in him. “Don’t you think he has had enough participation in his upbringing? For God’s sake, Charles is 27!” The Queen felt a rather unknown anger in her chest and, though she usually was very composed, felt like she had to express it. Why did everyone from her mother to her husband’s uncle think they had a right to decide what to do with her son? She was his mother after all - not the mother she had hoped to be, but still. Charles had just turned 27, he was a good-looking, clever young man with amazing ideas and thoughts, though she didn’t always understand him, and in her opinion he had a right to decide what he wanted to do next - in the limited aspects that were possible.

“Yet he acts like a child. He’s a dreamer, Elizabeth!,” the Duke of Edinburgh fumed. “He needs guidance and strong men around him. Two or three more years in the navy will do wonders.”

“He is not like you, Philip!” The monarch stood up from her chair and put her hands on the table. “I’m sorry you couldn’t be in the navy for as long as you’d hoped to be because of me. But don’t push Charles into this, he’s his own person. He has plans on his own and I am proud of the man he has become, Philip.” Her voice had become sharper with every word.

Philip grinned, he liked the fire that arose in his wife. “You’re being fierce today, Lilibet.” He moved towards her to kiss her, but she moved away.

“You and your uncle won’t do anything without mine or Charles’ approval,” the Queen stated firmly and with that walked towards the door without another glance at her husband. To say she was angry would be an understatement. 

“Your mother wants it, too, Elizabeth,” Philip called after her. It felt like a dagger stabbed into her heart.

X

05.12.1975

Charles had gotten his way and had convinced Camilla to go to a musical show with him. Charles had decided on “Thomas and the King”, though the reviews weren’t quite that good, but he thought he’d give it a go.

She had left Tom with a nanny, though it had broken her heart a little bit, and felt nice all glammed up with a bit of makeup on and in a sparkly black dress. They had arrived separately and left through the back entrance - it had been her condition - but had sat next to each other throughout the show. To her very surprise, nobody seemed to have noticed Charles and so she really enjoyed the night out. Neither she nor Charles had quite understood the negative reviews about the show, it seemed quite entertaining to both of them, but then again maybe it was just the thrill of being out and about together. Deep down her soul Camilla felt some issues about going out so soon after Andrew’s death, but she tried to push away that uneasy feeling and to focus on having a baby-free night instead.

Camilla had actually planned on going to her parents’ London flat, but Charles had insisted on taking her to his Buckingham Palace apartments. Though she had been there before, Camilla felt uneasy about going there. She’d last been there shortly after her marriage to Andrew and the situation had, of course, been tense. Charles had been on a furlough and she’d just wanted to meet with him briefly to talk about the things that had happened between them. She’d been too much in love with Andrew to realise what her heart had told her about Charles even back then…

But now it was different. They sat side by side in an understated Vauxhall Fierenza and held hands in a restrained manner all the way from Her Majesty’s theatre to Buckingham Palace. Eagerly Charles had promised there were no strings attached to her accompanying him to his home and that he’d bring her to her parents‘ flat any time should she wish for it. Tomorrow morning she’d return to Bolehyde Manor anyway before he‘d join her on Saturday evening and on Sunday. Camilla didn’t want the nanny to see her with the prince and Charles himself had things on his mind he didn’t want to bother his beloved with.

He’d have some meetings with Trevor, his loyal private secretary, while Camilla would do the two-hours drive back home. In fact, Trevor had saved him and his plans, at least as far as he was concerned. Trevor was well connected throughout the several royal households and, even if by coincidence, had heard of the phone call between the Queen Mother and Lord Mountbatten back in mid-November. Within the wink of an eye he’d taken action and informed the prince about it. His master, of course, had fumed with anger about the ambush of the two people in his family he thought he could trust. But together with Trevor and the unsuspected help from his sister Anne, he’d kept cool and formed out a plan.

Charles had made a step he’d never really thought he‘d take: he had talked to his mother. He had told her about his charitable plans – a project he had in mind for quite some time now, but had only ever talked about with Camilla -, his role in the family as a working member and that he had plans to settle down in the not too distant future. He hadn’t given any more details, just that, and, due to Trevor’s advice, had also left out the uncomely story that Uncle Dickie and his grandmother had teamed up against him. The Queen had seemed to be very pleased with the outcome of the conversation with her heir, had lauded him and, very unusual for her, had given him a tight slightly awkward hug.

Seemingly, the plan had turned out to be good since, according to Trevor - who really had his eyes and ears everywhere in the palace -, his mother had spoken up for him on this matter against his dreaded father. There surely would be more talks to come but as of now Charles thought himself in safe waters.

“It’s strange to be here again,“ Camila said as they entered the apartments at Buckingham Palace. “You have refurbished quite a bit, haven’t you?“ she remarked as her eyes wandered around and Charles nodded, only having eyes for her.

She looked to die for in her black, flowy dress and with her lips coloured in a shade of red that almost was way more than he could bear. And though she had only used little eyeliner and mascara her eyes looked deeper and more blue than ever.

With a small sigh of relief Camilla got out of her court shoes. “I wonder how some women can walk around in these things all day…,“ she shrugged apologetically and gave Charles a smile that almost made him swoon.

“I can carry you to the sofa if your feet won’t walk anymore,“ Charles smirked and attempted to pick her up, but she squealed and hit him softly.

“Idiot!“, she laughed. “I can walk perfectly well, thank you very much.“ Though still laughing, she leaned towards him to kiss him. All of a sudden she was very aware of his hands on her hips, holding her tightly. It felt good and safe and the kisses he returned were so tender and sweet that she thought she might melt in hands. They had kissed like that before, innocently and lovingly, but this felt different and she didn’t know why. “Please carry me to the sofa,“ Camilla heard herself saying with a voice that was far sexier than she’d intended it to be, not quite sure where it was coming from.

Charles felt like dreaming when he lifted her up with ease and carried her like the treasure she was to him. Her scent was intoxicating and her deep blue eyes pierced through his marrow and bone. He was obsessed with her. Utterly, willingly and wonderfully so.

Camilla wasn’t sure if it had been by intention or if it was just something that had happened when she found herself on the princely bed instead of on his sofa, but decided to push that thought away. Charles thought of himself as a gentleman and though he could be very naughty he usually acted like one. She just wanted to kiss her favourite little prince again, she wanted to feel him close to her again. Charles made her feel so loved, so wanted – she could easily get lost in his caressings, in his susurrated words and his sweet whispered nothings. Yet she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it mentally. A mere 8 weeks had passed since everything changed, but being with Charles just felt so right, his body on top of her’s and kissing fiercely felt so right.

“I love you so much,“ he breathed against her mouth before trailing light kisses from her chin down to her neck. He wanted her, but he didn’t know how far he could go. Of course, he had heard her quiet moans, but… 

Camilla untucked his bow tie and with her delicate hands opened the first few buttons of his shirt. Her fingertips touched his chest and Charles was electrified.

“Do you have something here?“ she asked, her blue eyes almost glowing in the dimmed light. “A condom,“ she specified with a kiss when she saw his confused face. They weren’t quite down to it yet, obviously, but she wanted to be sure before they got lost and it’d be too late.

“I…,” Charles stuttered, his mind swamped by these simple words. “I… yes!”. He couldn’t recall having ever used condoms with her, but it didn’t matter now. He had some and they were near, so he kissed her quickly before he rolled to the side and fished them out of the bedside table. Then his mouth was on hers again and this time, both of them knew there would be no turning back. There were no walls this time, Camilla had blocked all the small doubts that had previously stopped her. Their bodies wrapped together as Charles tenderly tried to get her dress off with shaking hands while Camilla tried to get rid of his shirt.

As more clothes came off, Charles couldn’t stop marvelling at her beautiful body. It had slightly changed since he’d last seen her naked, but she’d only become more beautiful. He wanted to savour each moment, every little part of her body but at the same time he just wanted her completely. 

Camilla’s mind swirled, Charles took her breath away with every kiss on all the right parts of her body, with every breathy word, with the endless respect and love he showed towards her. Their bodies just seemed to click like they’d done from the first day on. Charles bedded her on clouds and, indeed, as their bodies became one it was as if heaven had opened up for both of them. It was wonderful to be loved like that, to be worshipped and adored like that. Camilla realised just now how much she’d been missing this boundless love the past three years. And when she looked into his eyes, she could see without a doubt that Charles loved her more than anything else in the world, that she was his salvation, the same way that he was hers. 

[gracie-bird]

Grace and Rainier III of Monaco with Lord Mountbatten on their arrival at the MIDEM (Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale) show in Cannes, France, on January 23rd, 1973.

[graceandfamily]

Princess Grace of Monaco (with a Naja) and Lord Louis Mountbatten on January 23, 1973 at the Midem in Cannes.

[lasaraconor]

[royally-obsessed]

on this day in 1939

Dartmouth Naval College aka the Beginning of a Crush

22nd July 1939. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with their two daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret arriving at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth. The Royal Family was to be escorted around the Naval College by Prince Philip of Greece.The photographs of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip together were taken for the first time on this day.

[ladygoehnio]

A selection of postcards sent at Christmas and Easter by the Russian Imperial Family from Lord Louis Mountbatten's collection.

Anastasia: 17 May 1910 My darling Dick, I want to see you. What kind of weather are you having? Are you all alone in London? When shall you see your sisters? I wish you were here so that we could play together. Olga Tatiana and Marie send their love and many kisses to you and all. From your loving Anastasia

Alexei: For dear Dicky. From Alexei 1910

Tatiana: Darling Dicky, How are you now? I hope you feel better n(and?) can go to (?), Please write to me how you are. We were all in the (?)it was very nice. Now good-bye.(The last card is from Alix the Tsarina and actually I have no idea about the rest handwriting😅😭🏃)

[thepastisalreadywritten]

“Malta was always very special to me. I remember happy days here with Prince Philip when we were first married,” said the Queen in 2015.

Lady Pamela, who was one of the Queen’s bridesmaids, has also spoken of the love the late monarch had for the island.

“The Princess really loved Malta because she was able to lead a normal life, wander through the town and do some shopping,” she told MailOnline.

“It was the only place that she was able to live the life of a naval officer’s wife, just like all the other wives. It was wonderful for her and it’s why they have such a nostalgia for Malta.”

With 300 days of sunshine per year, and beautifully breathtaking landscapes that have served as locations for major film and TV productions such as Game of Thrones, Popeye, and Gladiator, it’s no surprise that the Queen was so fond of Malta.

The Queen’s love affair with Malta

The Queen and Prince Philip were married in November 1947 and spent their early years of marriage in Malta between 1949 and 1951.

They lived at Villa Guardamangia, owned by Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten.

The Duke was stationed there as a naval officer and was appointed second-in-command of HMS Chequers, operating from Malta with the Mediterranean fleet.

The property offered the newlyweds more than just a Mediterranean base, as Malta gave them their only taste of real life and a place where they could be their normal selves.

In fact, Malta is the only place outside the UK that Queen Elizabeth has ever called home.

Hicks said:

“They were magical days of endless picnics, sunbathing, and water skiing. It was wonderful for her and it’s why they have such nostalgia for Malta.”

The Queen liked to divide her time between England – where she could spend time with her son, Charles, and his grandparents – and Malta.

Elizabeth’s magical and carefree time in Malta allowed her to handle cash for the first time, drive through the narrow streets, and dance with Prince Philip in the ballroom of Hotel Meridien Phoenicia.

The Queen would also host tea parties and visit the local salon while Philip was on board Chequers.

In 1951, King George’s health deteriorated rapidly, and the couple had to make a return to normal life, moving back to the UK.

Prince Philip left the Royal Navy on “indefinite leave” in July 1951, ending his military career to stand by Elizabeth.

Following King George’s death on 6 February 1952, Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh returned to Malta several more times.

In 2007, the couple celebrated their diamond anniversary in Malta and, most recently, in 2015, they were there for the Commonwealth summit in Valletta.

During the trip, former Maltese president Marie Louise Coleiro gifted the couple a watercolour of Villa Guardamangia.

Now Villa Guardamangia, just outside Valetta, is set to be transformed into a museum, after falling into disrepair in recent years.

The planned restoration project is being managed by the Maltese government, which acquired the 18-bedroom property last summer, three years after its last residence.

An elderly woman who could no longer handle its upkeep previously lived there. It will see the former royal residence transformed into a museum for all to visit, exploring Britain’s link to Malta (which gained independence in 1964), and will recreate what the house looked like when The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh lived there.