9. Viceroy's House Part 2; The Build Towards Indian Partition

11/20/19 • 23 min

In the second Viceroy’s House episode Lady Pamela regales more of her incredible memories as a teenager living in India when her father, Lord Mountbatten, was given what he knew was the ‘impossible job’ as the last Viceroy of India. In the now very tense build up to Indian partition 18 year old Lady Pamela and her mother Lady Louis Mountbatten are still working in the refugee camps, have become close friends with Gandhi and Indian Prime Minister Nehru and witness some of the intense highs and lows of this challenging time.

Previous Episode

8. Viceroy’s House; 17 Year Old Lady Pamela’s First Months in India

When her father, Lord Mountbatten was given what he knew was the ‘impossible job’ as the last Viceroy of India, Lady Pamela, still only 17, along with her mother, knuckled down to work. They spent time in the refugee camps, sat spellbound at meetings with Gandhi and Nehru and had a front row seat at one of the most challenging times in Indian and British history. Lady Pamela tells us, through the eyes of a teenager, what it was like to witness this extraordinary period in time in another un-missable episode of the India Hicks Podcast.

Next Episode

10. Viceroy’s House Part 3; The Chaos After Partition, Gandhi and Nehru

We’re sitting in the drawing room of Lady Pamela Hicks’ home in Oxfordshire having a generally very informal conversation about Lady Pamela’s memories of living through some pretty extraordinary and now historic times. It’s just India, Lady Pamela and me – Lisa the producer recording it and putting it all together – we’ve chosen to have no studio, no formalities just conversation and plenty of tea and cake.

In this, the third of our Viceroy’s House episodes Lady Pamela, now 18, recalls the euphoria and subsequent difficulties after Indian partition when her father, Lord Mountbatten was doing what he knew was the ‘impossible job’ as the last Viceroy of India.

In the now very tense aftermath of partition Lady Pamela, along with her mother Lady Louis Mountbatten, are still working in the refugee camps and Lord Mountbatten is working flat out. But the political and social situation is very challenging, Gandhi starts his hunger strike and yes we do talk about the friendship between Indian Prime Minister Nehru and Lady Edwina.