page_title: Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma
section_title: Marriage and children
hierarchical_section_title: Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma / Marriage and children
caption_attribution_description: Louis (1900-1979) and Edwina (1901-1960) Mounbatten
context_page_description: Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, CI, GBE, DCVO, GCStJ was an English heiress, socialite, relief worker and the last Vicereine of India as wife of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
context_section_description: By the time Lord Louis Mountbatten first met Edwina in 1920, she was a leading member of London society. Her maternal grandfather died in 1921, leaving her £2 million (equivalent to £89.4 million in 2019), and his palatial London townhouse, Brook House, at a time when her future husband's naval salary was £610 a year (equivalent to £27,262 in 2019). Later, she would inherit the country seat of Broadlands, Hampshire, from her father, Wilfred William Ashley, 1st Baron Mount Temple.
  She and Mountbatten married on 18 July 1922 at St Margaret's, Westminster. The wedding attracted crowds of more than 8,000 people, and was attended by many members of the royal family, including Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), and dubbed "wedding of the year".
  Drew Pearson described Edwina in 1944 as "one of the most beautiful women in England". She was known to have affairs throughout the marriage, doing little to hide them from her husband. He became aware of her lovers, accepted them and even developed friendships with some of them – making them "part of the family". Her daughter Pamela Hicks wrote a memoir in which she describes her mother as "a man eater" and her mother's many lovers as a succession of "uncles" throughout her childhood. Edwina's affair with Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, both during and after their post-war service has been widely documented. She also reportedly had an affair with the Grenadian jazz singer Leslie Hutchinson.
  The Mountbattens had two daughters, Patricia (14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) and Pamela (born 19 April 1929). In her memoir daughter Pamela describes Edwina as a detached, rarely seen mother who preferred travelling the world with her current lover to mothering her children.
caption: Louis and Edwina Mountbatten early in marriage.
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