Lord Mountbatten Decreed How Royals Should Be Raised And Queen Elizabeth Followed

Lord Mountbatten previously set the standards of how male royals should be raised, and Queen Elizabeth II followed his approach until before Princess Diana joined the royal family.

Clive Irving, a journalist for The Daily Beast, said that the death of Mountbatten or “Uncle Dickie” to the Queen’s children, resulted in a rivalry for control of the way male royals were to be raised.

In recent years, Mountbatten’s parenting approach is something that Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William, and Kate Middleton are trying to veer away from. But before this, the Queen and Prince Philip first raised their four children with Mountbatten’s style in mind.

Uncle Dickie wanted the male members of the royal family to be alpha males with Teutonic self-discipline. Prince Philip was the first person that experienced Mountbatten’s approach way before the retired royal met his wife.

Mountbatten was the one that decided to send Prince Philip to Cheam and then Gordonstoun. This is why when he had Prince Charles, the Duke of Edinburgh decided to send the future King to Gordonstoun as well.

While studying at the boarding school, Prince Charles penned an emotional letter to his parents saying that he wasn’t having a great time at the institution.

“The people in my dormitory are foul. Goodness, they are horrid… I don’t know how anybody could be so foul,” Prince Charles wrote.

However, the Prince of Wales’ cry for help fell on deaf ears because he still continued studying at Gordonstoun. It was Prince Charles’ grandmother, the Queen Mother, that saw his distress in the letter. The Queen Mother asked her eldest daughter if Prince Charles could leave the boarding school, but Her Majesty left the decision to Prince Philip.

Years later, Mountbatten also played a role in Prince Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana. Two years before his assassination, Uncle Dickie advised Prince Charles to enjoy his wild oats because a suitable bride for him is just right around the corner.