IF THE TIARA FITS

The mystery of the long-lost tiara of French high jewelry house Chaumet has finally been solved. And with it, its Indian roots, learns Divya Bala.

WHEN EDWINA ASHLEY first travelled to India from England in 1922, she met and married Lord Louis Mountbatten, great-grandson of Queen Victoria. Following his services in World War II and his role in the independence of India, his ‘Lord’ title was quickly promoted to (the much more extensive) Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia. Soon after, his title was once again upgraded to the Viceroy of India and his wife, Lady Mountbatten, to Vicereine.

As her husband’s titles grew increasingly prestigious, Lady Mountbatten, a close friend of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, chose to work for humanitarian causes, a trailblazing move for a woman of her time. She assisted in the rehabilitation of prisoners of war and organising food, medical supplies, and aid for refugees of the Partition of India in 1947.