LORD Mountbatten held a special place in the Royal Family and was beloved by many important members of the monarchy.
His death rocked the royals especially those close to Lord Mountbatten, including Prince Phillip and Prince Charles.
Who was Lord Mountbatten?
Lord Mountbatten was born Prince Louis of Battenberg in Windsor on June 25, 1900.
He was born at Frogmore House, a Grade I listed building belonging to the Crown estate.
Prince Louis was nicknamed Dickie despite not having Richard as his name, as it was a suggestion by Queen Victoria that stuck.
He had two daughters with wife Edwina Ashley – Lady Patricia, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and Lady Pamela.
During the First World War, Lord Mountbatten served at sea with the Royal Navy.
In 1917, the family dropped their Germanic name Battenberg and changed it to Mountbatten as anti-German sentiment grew in the UK.
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He continued his work in the Navy while studying English Literature at Cambridge.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, he took commanded the destroyer HMS Kelly, which was later sunk off the coast of Crete by Nazis.
Lord Mountbatten was then appointed Chief of Combined Operations and was responsible for the botched Dieppe raid of August 1942.
This raid had almost 60% loss of lives, who were mostly Canadian, causing Mountbatten to become a controversial figure in Canada.
He later became the Supreme Allied Commander of the Southeast Asia Theatre, and oversaw the recapture of Burma.
In 1945 he received the Japanese surrender, something he viewed as a personal high-point of his life.
The South East Asia Command was disbanded and he returned to England as rear-admiral, then made a Knight of the Garter and became Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
Prime Minister Clement Attlee convinced him to serve as the last Viceroy of India in 1947.
The job involved overseeing the transition of British India to independence with the aim of creating united India.
Lord Mountbatten returned to the Navy and became First Sea Lord – 40 years after his dad did the same job.
In 1959, he became Chief of the Defence Staff, the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Prime Minister.
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How did Lord Mountbatten die and who was killed with him?
Lord Mountbatten was murdered aged 79 by the IRA, during a holiday at his summer home in August 1979.
A bomb was planted on a boat in Mullaghmore, Ireland, and Mountbatten went out onto the water.
Mountbatten was not alone on the boat – his daughter Patricia, her husband John, their 14-year-old twin sons Nicholas and Timothy, John’s mother Doreen and 15-year-old crew member Paul Maxwell joined him.
Young boys Nicholas and Paul were also killed in the blast, while Doreen, 83, died of her injuries the following day.
The IRA took responsibility for the explosion calling it "an execution" and published a statement promising to continue the "noble struggle to drive the British intruders out of our native land".
Skilled bombmaker Thomas McMahon was convicted of murder and he was imprisoned for life.
He was released in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement which sought to end the Northern Ireland Troubles.
How was Lord Mountbatten related to Prince Phillip?
Lord Mountbatten's great-grandmother on his mother's side was Queen Victoria, great-great grandmother to Queen Elizabeth.
His sister was Princess Alice of Battenberg, who married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and was Prince Philip’s mother.
During his younger years, Mountbatten travelled with Prince Edward, brother to King George VI, forming a fast friendship.
He was appointed personal aide-de-camp by Edward VII, George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
The naval officer was Prince Charles's great-uncle and was described by the royal as “the grandfather I never had”.
The pair had a strong relationship and Lord Mountbatten even coached his great-nephew on his love life.
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At one stage, he suggested Prince Charles marry his granddaughter Amanda, who turned down his proposal.
He was close to the royal family and arranged the first meeting between the Queen and Prince Philip.
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