06 MAR 2024
A tribute & memorial website to honour​ - Lord Louis MOUNTBATTEN, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Edwina's headdress was a wreath of orange blossom, mounted on silver wire with a crystal dewdrop fixed to each flower. Her dress was simple and straight, tied at a low waist by two sashes of the same material of the dress, but embroidered with pearls and diamante crystals. The main material used for Edwina's dress was silver cloth and lace known as 'silver tissue' was specially woven and treated to make it extremely soft. The priceless 15th Century Venetian lace was a gift from her great-aunt Mrs Wilhelmina 'Bobbie' Cassel (1847-1925), which was cleverly mounted on the silver cloth to form a 'manteau de cour'. Spanish rose point lace which formed a square collar was under the Venetian lace of two panels running the whole length of the 12ft train, with silver tissue dividing the panels and edging the train. The bouquet included delphiniums and silver ribbons.
Mountbatten and Edwina's bridesmaids wore delphinium or sometime described as 'sweat pea' blue dresses and modish Dutch-style hats of silver lace with leaf green ribbon, designed by Edwina herself. The dresses were made in layers of blue crepe Romaine and mauve georgette, which hung in folds and tied with sashes of mauve and green shot silk. The dresses had long sleeves, with a straight bodice, slightly full from the round neck, drawn into fine gathers on either side of the low waistline. The skirts were eight inches off the ground, with the low waistline shown by three folds of taffeta in shades of 'sweat pea' pink and blue and leaf green. They also wore silver silk stockings and green shoes. Each bridesmaid wore a small diamond 'Naval style' brooch, a gift from Mountbatten. Crew members from HMS Renown and HMS Repulse acted as ushers in the church, with Mountbatten's brother - Sir George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, formerly Prince George of Battenberg (1892-1938) as Chief Usher.
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King George V, Queen Alexandra & Queen Mary
at Mountbatten & Edwina's wedding
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Queen Alexandra & Queen Mary
talking to the bridesmaids
at Mountbatten & Edwina's wedding
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The best man (supporter) was -
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HRH Prince Edward 'David', The Prince of Wales subsequently King Edward VIII, later The Duke of Windsor (1894(1936)1972) - cousin of the groom (eldest son of King George V)
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The seven bridesmaids were -
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The Lady Mary Ashley-Cooper (1902-1936) - cousin of the bride (daughter of 9th Earl of Shaftesbury)
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Miss Joan Pakenham (1904-1998) - cousin of the bride - (daughter of Mrs Lillian Pakenham (née Ashley)
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HRH Princess Margarita of Greece & Denmark (1905-1981) - niece of the groom (daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg (Mountbatten’s sister)
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The Hon. Mary Ashley (1906-1986) - sister of the bride (daughter of 1st Lord Mount Temple)
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HRH Princess Theodora of Greece & Denmark (1906-1969) - niece of the groom (daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg (Mountbatten’s sister)
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HRH Princess Cecilie of Greece & Denmark (1911-1937) - niece of the groom (daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg (Mountbatten’s sister)
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HRH Princess Sophie of Greece & Denmark(1914-2001) - niece of the groom (daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg (Mountbatten’s sister)
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LEFT: St Margaret's Church, Westminster, London
The Royal guest list was a glittering spectacle and included -
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King George V (1865(1910-1936) accompanied by Queen Mary (1867-1953); Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), widow of 'Uncle Bertie' King Edward VII (1841(1901-1910) accompanied by her daughter Princess Victoria 'Toria' (1868-1935); Prince Albert 'Bertie', The Duke of York, later King George VI (1895(1936-1952); Prince Henry, later 1st Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974); Prince George, later 1st Duke of Kent (1902-1942); Princess Mary, later The Princess Royal (1897-1965) & Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles, later 6th Earl of Harewood (1882-1947); Princess Louise, The Princess Royal, Duchess of Fife (1867-1931), accompanied by her daughters - Princess Arthur of Connaught & Strathearn, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891-1959) and Princess Maud of Fife, later Countess of Southesk (1893-1945); Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught & Strathearn (1850-1942), son of Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901); Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, formerly Princess Helena (1846-1923), daughter of Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901), accompanied by her daughters - Princess Helena Victoria 'Thora' (1870-1948) and Princess Marie Louise 'Louie' (1872-1956); Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939), daughter of Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901); The Duchess of Albany, formerly Princess Helen of Waldeck & Pyrmont (1861-1922), widow of Prince Leopold, 1st Duke of Albany (1853-1884), son of Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901); Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883-1981) accompanied by her husband - The Rt Hon. Sir Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, formerly Prince Alexander of Teck (1874-1957); Princess Andrew of Greece & Denmark, formerly Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885-1969) accompanied by her husband Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark (1882-1944); George Cambridge, Earl of Eltham, later 2nd Marquess of Cambridge, formerly Prince George of Teck (1895-1981) accompanied by his wife - Dorothy, Countess of Eltham (née Hastings) (1899-1988), and his sisters - Lady Helena Gibbs (née Cambridge), formerly Princess Helena of Teck (1899-1969), her husband Major John Gibbs (1879-1932) and Lady Mary Cambridge, formerly Princess Mary of Teck, later Duchess of Beaufort (1897-1987); Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (1861-1929) & The Countess de Torby, formerly Countess Sophie of Merenberg (1868-1927) accompanied by their daughter Lady Zia Wernher, formerly Countess Anastasia de Torby (1892-1977) and her husband (Sir) Harold Wernher (1893-1973); Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia, formerly Princess Maria of Greece & Denmark (1876-1940), the widow of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (1863–1919) accompanied by her daughter Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia (1901-1974); Infanta Beatriz of Spain, later The Princess of Civitella-Cesi (1909-2002), daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain (1886-1941) & Queen Victoria Eugénie 'Ena' of Spain formerly Princess Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg (1887-1969); Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, The Aga Khan III (1887-1957); Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, The Maharaja of Bikaner (1880-1943); Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, The Maharaja of Kapurthala (1872-1949); Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar (1872-1933).
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Other notable guests included -
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Rear-Admiral (later Admiral of the Fleet) The Rt Hon. Sir Ernle Chatfield, later 1st Lord Chatfield (1873-1967), who had been Mountbatten's commanding officer of HMS Lion; Lady Cynthia 'Cimmie' Mosley (née Curzon) (1898-1933) accompanied by her husband Captain (Sir) Oswald Mosley (1896-1980), who later became the Leader of the British Union of Fascists, and her sisters Lady Alexandra 'Baba' Curzon, later Metcalfe (1904-1995) and Lady Irene Curzon, later Baroness Ravensdale of Kedleston and succeeded as 2nd Baroness Ravensdale (1896-1966); The Rt Hon. (Sir) Henry H. Asquith, later 1st Earl of Oxford & Asquith (1852-1928), the Leader of the Liberal Party and former Prime Minister of the UK; Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon. Sir David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (1871-1936); Mrs Freda Dudley Ward (née Birkin), later Marquesa de Casa Maury (1894-1983), a mistress of Prince Edward 'David', The Prince of Wales, subsequently King Edward VIII (1894(1936)1972) and later The Duke of Windsor; The Rt Hon. David Lloyd George, later 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (1863-1945), the Prime Minister, accompanied by his wife - Dame Margaret Lloyd George (1864-1941), and their daughter Miss (later Lady) Megan Lloyd George (1902-1966); Dame Margaret Greville (née McEwan), The Hon. Mrs Ronald Greville (1863-1942); The Rt Hon. Sir Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848-1930), the former Prime Minister of the UK; The Rt Hon. (Sir) Winston Churchill (1874-1965) who later became Prime Minister, accompanied by his wife Mrs Churchill (née Clementine Hozier), later Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1885-1977); 'Emerald', Lady Cunard (née Maud Burke) (1872-1948); and the eminent surgeon Sir Frederick Treves, Bt. (1853-1923).
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