As many will already know, it was the youngest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine who would become a prominent figure in the lives of the modern world of the Windsors. Young Louis Battenberg, later Louis Mountbatten, was known as Dickie to his confidants, and was stung early when his father, First Sea Lord of the British Navy, was removed from his post at the outbreak of WWI because of his German origins. The episode would motivate his son to excel in a Naval career to reclaim the title, and the then-Mountbattens' familial closeness with the House of Windsor would give him an avenue to real political power and influence.
Edwina Ashley, future wife of Louis Mountbatten, was born into a family of means, but not of emotional connection. While her grandfather, Sir Ernest Cassel, was kind and involved, her parents left her sister and Edwina to mostly be raised by governesses. After her mother's death, Edwina's father married for a second time to a woman Louis would later describe as "a wicked woman." Edwina was ultimately able to find refuge in her grandfather's home, where as a teenager she became a sophisticated society hostess and a friend to many in the monied elite. Sir Ernest Cassel's death, when Edwina was about 20, made her one of the richest women in England. Upon her engagement to the much-less-rich Louis Mountbatten, Sir Anthony Eden noted in his diary, "Edwina Ashley is engaged to Lord Louis Mountbatten. What a waste."
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Sources
The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves, by Andrew Lownie (Amazon.com)
Edwina Mountbatten: A Life of Her Own, by Janet Morgan (Amazon.com)
Lord and Lady Mountbatten Wedding (townandcountrymag.com)
THE LIFE AND LOVES OF LADY EDWINA MOUNTBATTEN - The Washington Post
The Countess Who Counted - The Washington Post
Inside the scandalous 'bed-hopping' marriage of Louis and Edwina Mounbatten | The Sun
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62. Meet The Bonapartes | Napoleon and Josephine
61. Leopold II of Belgium, the Congo Free State, and Villa Leopolda
60. King Umberto II and Queen Marie-Jose of Italy and the Fall of the House of Savoy
59. Queen Ranavalona I, The Mad Queen of Madagascar
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52. Caroline of Brunswick, featuring Sam from I'm Horrified!
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50. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Dickie Solo
49. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Comrades in Arms
48. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Careless People
47. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Unconventional Marriage
46. Louis and Edwina Mountbatten | Let the Affairs Begin!
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