Lord Mountbatten's personal life

Lord MountbattenGetty Images

This new documentary explores the personal life of Lord Mountbatten, which was interesting to say the least

Lord Mountbatten's personal life has been made more public than ever with the airing of this new documentary.

The three-part series titled 'The Private Lives of the Windsors' starts off with a focus on Lord Mountbatten, who was Prince Philip's uncle, and actually introduced him to Queen Elizabeth. Lord Mountbatten would go on to become a mentor and honorary grandfather to Prince Charles.

The documentary follows the life of Lord Mountbatten, who was once viewed as a 'second-division Royal' but would go on to establish himself as a crucial figure in the heart of Windsor Castle.

Lord Mountbatten married Edwina Ashley. The footage used in the documentary is in black and white, but still manages to highlight just how flamboyant the two were.

Their wedding, held in 1922, was viewed as the biggest event of the year in the UK. Lord Mountbatten's Royal pedigree coupled with the fact that Ashley was the richest heiress in the UK meant that their wedding was a true socialite affair.

Their marriage, however, was not quite 'typical'.

As the documentary shows, Edwina would be the first to start to have several extra-marital affairs, which Lord Mountbatten was devastated by.

As a way of coping, Lord Mountbatten himself turned to other partners and was known for his charm. He said 'Edwina and I spent all our married life getting into other people's beds.'

Now, the documentary has also revealed that Lord Mountbatten was actually being kept tabs on by the FBI, due to his alleged bisexuality, which was considered taboo at that time.

FBI documents from the 1940s revealed claims that was secretly a 'homosexual with a perversion for young boys.' This is, of course, a huge claim, and should be taken with a pinch of salt before we know all of the facts in this situation.

Andrew Lownie wrote a book called 'The Mountbattens'. He had this to say regarding the extracurricular activities of the pair;

''There really is a great film to be made about them. Edwina was a fascinating character. She really didn't care what society thought of her. She just did her own thing. But there were two arcs in her life. First, she was a bored socialite having affairs, but later she was almost a Mother Theresa figure. He was very much afraid that her affairs would affect his career and his relationship with the royal family. Even now people are pretty discrete about these things, in those circles. It was a case of, as long as they didn't scare the horses, they could get up to whatever they wanted in private, as long as it didn't become public.''

Clearly, the Mountbattens were an interesting pair and certainly had a life worth examining. Their extramarital affairs were unusual at the time for Royal Family members but perhaps set somewhat of a precedent...

Lord Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb in 1979. The true extent of his wild personal life was never truly revealed until much later, however.

He was perhaps best known not for his achievements in his military career, but for his relationship with Prince Charles. Many have stated that Lord Mountbatten was a father figure to Charles, and would regularly advise him on his love life. Perhaps the documentary will also shed some light on their relationship.