Lord Louis Mountbatten and Edwina Ashley - 1922

[Alison H]

He definitely had status. He was the king's first cousin once removed, a great-nephew of the murdered Tsarina, and related to many other royal families. And a close friend of the Prince of Wales, as Curryong said.

 

[An Ard Ri]

What a shame that the Barony Mount Temple fell into extinction following Lady Edwina's fathers death in 1939.
The title was an Irish peerage.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

She married a relative of the royal family. I don't think Edwina was bothered about status too much, but it's safe to say she married up. Grandpa Sir Ernest would have been thrilled.

I wouldn’t really say that she “married up in the proper sense”, there are and were lots of aristocrats who are or were related to the BRF and of a higher status than Louis Mountbatten. But in a way Louis can be regarded as close enough to marrying a “senior member” of the BRF especially with all his scheming and machinations.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Let’s not forget either that Louis had been Prince Louis until 1917, not that many years before Louis and Edwina’s marriage. And he was a close friend of David the POW, and a relative of his. That alone guaranteed membership of the set around the Prince of Wales which Edwina probably thought quite amusing.

His former princely status even back then didn’t give him much of anything and he was given a hard time being a foreign “prince” and losing his title made it easy for him to be less bothered in the navy. Edwina’s financier grandfather was very close friend of King Edward VII , so I don’t think she was necessarily impressed with Louis being in the circle of the royals even if he was a relation and her paternal family, the Ashley-Coopers were a politically prominent aristocratic family.

 

[Curryong]

Edwina’s grandfather had been part of King Edward’s social circle but the King had been dead a long time by Edwina’s marriage in 1922. During the War many of Cassel’s upperclass friends and social circle boycotted him, as they did others who had German blood, and didn’t visit his house. So exactly how close he was to the royal family by the time of his death is debatable.

It was Edwina’s huge fortune left to her by her grandfather that was a great attraction for Louis though he did love Edwina I believe, and she him, though it faded to fondness within a decade. If she had not been an heiress I don’t believe he would have married her.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Classiebawn Castle in County Sligo was also inherited by Lady Mountbatten in 1939 but it was later sold off by the family in 1991 and is in private hands today.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Edwina’s grandfather had been part of King Edward’s social circle but the King had been dead a long time by Edwina’s marriage in 1922. During the War many of Cassel’s upperclass friends and social circle boycotted him, as they did others who had German blood, and didn’t visit his house. So exactly how close he was to the royal family by the time of his death is debatable.

It was Edwina’s huge fortune left to her by her grandfather that was a great attraction for Louis though he did love Edwina I believe, and she him, though it faded to fondness within a decade. If she had not been an heiress I don’t believe he would have married her.

Definitely Edwina’s wealth helped a lot

 

[Prinsara]

What a shame that the Barony Mount Temple fell into extinction following Lady Edwina's fathers death in 1939.
The title was an Irish peerage.

It's a bit more of a shame that Wilfred Ashley was so obsessed with having a son that he ignored Edwina and her sister in the process for being girls. Thankfully Dickie was a bit different (and the Queen was more accommodating).

 

[An Ard Ri]

It's a bit more of a shame that Wilfred Ashley was so obsessed with having a son that he ignored Edwina and her sister in the process for being girls. Thankfully Dickie was a bit different (and the Queen was more accommodating).

But neither of them could succeed him under the rules and the the peerage became extinct.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

But neither of them could succeed him under the rules and the the peerage became extinct.

I’m sure he could have asked for a writ in the letters patent, it has happened with some peerages like the Earl of Wilton, The Clinton Barony and a few others.

 

[Dalriada]

I’m sure he could have asked for a writ in the letters patent, it has happened with some peerages like the Earl of Wilton, The Clinton Barony and a few others.

It’s probably the best thing to dis remember the most horrible aspects of irelands history after all we don’t want to draw attention to the British atrocities committed exactly a century ago.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

It’s probably the best thing to dis remember the most horrible aspects of irelands history after all we don’t want to draw attention to the British atrocities committed exactly a century ago.

Pardon me? I don’t want to come off ignorant, but which particular part of horrible parts of Irish history are you referring to (I am aware there has been difficult and horrendous parts of the history, but I want you to specify). Does it have something to do with what I typed?

 

[An Ard Ri]

I’m sure he could have asked for a writ in the letters patent, it has happened with some peerages like the Earl of Wilton, The Clinton Barony and a few others.

And silly me the last title holder of this Irish peerage died in 1939 and the Irish Free State was 10 years established!

 

[maria-olivia]

SirGyamfi1 , You do remember periods which are over now such as this , the story of the late Comte de Paris Henri Sénior, the communor Weddings of some of Princess Marina of Kent's grandchildren etc...

 

[SirGyamfi1]

SirGyamfi1 , You do remember periods which are over now such as this , the story of the late Comte de Paris Henri Sénior, the communor Weddings of some of Princess Marina of Kent's grandchildren etc...

I don’t exactly get what your saying, can you kindly more clear because I don’t get what you’re saying?

 

[Prinsara]

To bring this back to the actual topic, I'm pretty sure Edwina was well-aware of how her money was viewed, given her aristo father had somehow managed to 'overlook' the "Catholic-Jewish-new money" thing and marry her mother.

Somehow.

Enough for that, not enough for her father to view her as worth anything, not enough to save her mother's life, and not enough for her stepmother not to be a racist b*tch to her (to quote Dickie), and I'm sure many others to take the same attitude as well.

Perhaps it's not much of a surprise she didn't care for rank and gave the money away so freely later on.

Or perhaps she saw marrying so close to the royals as a little bit of extra armor.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

To bring this back to the actual topic, I'm pretty sure Edwina was well-aware of how her money was viewed, given her aristo father had somehow managed to 'overlook' the "Catholic-Jewish-new money" thing and marry her mother.

Somehow.

Enough for that, not enough for her father to view her as worth anything, not enough to save her mother's life, and not enough for her stepmother not to be a racist b*tch to her (to quote Dickie), and I'm sure many others to take the same attitude as well.

Perhaps it's not much of a surprise she didn't care for rank and gave the money away so freely later on.

Or perhaps she saw marrying so close to the royals as a little bit of extra armor.

I don’t think she would have found it hard to find a high ranking spouse because some peers had married Jewish women like the Marquess of Cholmondely who married Sybil Sassoon de Rothschild, a wealthy heiress from two of the most prominent Jewish banking families. She could easily have found an illustrious but impoverished peer, but probably loved Dickie because he was a supportive and understanding person to her or maybe she had issues finding a more important peer than Dickie die to her background, I’m not sure unless there is a book that addresses her love life prior to marrying Dickie. But her childhood was quite problematic due to her fathers young death and her horrible stepmother.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

I’m sure he could have asked for a writ in the letters patent, it has happened with some peerages like the Earl of Wilton, The Clinton Barony and a few others.

How long of a time period does it take for a writ in the letters patent to occur?

 

[SirGyamfi1]

How long of a time period does it take for a writ in the letters patent to occur?

I’m not sure, it depends on the circumstances because for example the Clinton Barony took an 8 year legal battle for the title to be assumed.

 

[Lady Daly]

I’m sure he could have asked for a writ in the letters patent, it has happened with some peerages like the Earl of Wilton, The Clinton Barony and a few others.

A bit ironic that Earl Mountbatten and Edwina's eldest daughter Patricia succeeded her father after his assassination in 1979 since his peerages had been created with special remainder to his daughters and their male heirs. Lady Patricia inherited her father's title becoming 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma and since her death in 2017, her son Norton became the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

Amended post: Lady Patricia was the eldest daughter, Lady Pamela Hicks is the younger daughter.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

A bit ironic that Earl Mountbatten and Edwina's eldest daughter Pamela succeeded her father after his assassination in 1979 since his peerages had been created with special remainder to his daughters and their male heirs. Lady Pamela inherited her father's title becoming 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma and since her death in 2017, her son Norton became the 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma.

I think there was a special remainder for the daughters to inherit. The Mount-Temple Barony had no special reminder for the Barony nor did Wilifred Ashley ask for a writ or special remainder. It doesn’t really matter badly because Edwina’s father was a second son of an Earl, unlikely to inherit much from his family so the Barony would not have given much of anything.

 

[Prinsara]

Lady Pamela is still alive. It was her older sister Patricia who inherited the title and became Countess Mountbatten.

 

[Lady Daly]

Lady Pamela is still alive. It was her older sister Patricia who inherited the title and became Countess Mountbatten.

The error has already been noted and a correction was made. Unfortunately I was unable to also correct the quote.

 

[Lady Daly]

Here is a fascinating article taken from
"The Mountbattens: The Lives and Loves of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten" by Andrew Lownie. The "Town & Country article is entitled "Inside the Wedding that Changed the Royal Family Forever".

It begins, "Tuesday, 18 July 1922. In spite of the rain, by breakfast, 600 people had gathered outside St. Margaret’s, the 12th-century church in the shadow of Westminster Abbey and a favorite for society weddings. By lunchtime the crowd would swell to 8,000. For the Daily Telegraph, this was to be the Wedding of the Year—the Star thought it the Wedding of the Century— between the beautiful Edwina Ashley, "the richest girl in the world," and Lord Louis Mountbatten, the handsome naval officer and member of the extended Royal Family."

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/s...y-mountbatten-biography-andrew-lownie-expert/

I've been fascinated with this family for decades, glad to have found this most informative thread/discussion covering Louis and Edwina's wedding and family background.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

It is interesting that The Star referred to the wedding as The Wedding of the Century. The century was only twenty-two years old.

 

[Prinsara]

It is interesting that The Star referred to the wedding as The Wedding of the Century. The century was only twenty-two years old.

It can still count as being the greatest spectacle up to that point.

 

[An Ard Ri]

A portrait of Edwina Ashley in her wedding dress painted in 1924.

 

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