August 27th: The Day the Queen's Cousin was Killed

Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Queen's cousin and a Governor General of India, was assassinated by an IRA bombing of his private yacht on August 27th 1979. At 79 years of age, the Earl of Burma had a lengthy and reputable career in the naval forces, and his death was a tragic loss for the Royal Family and his country. Every year, his family would take a summer holiday to the seaside village of Mullaghmore, very close to the border of the Republic of Ireland. Lord Mountbatten's yacht, the Shadow V, had been unguarded prior to August 27th, and had no security measures to prevent such an attack.

Lord Mountbatten

    The IRA planted the bomb in Mountbatten's boat, and it detonated at approximately 11.30am. The IRA organisation admitted straight away to the bombing, along with this statement: "This operation is one of the discriminate ways we can bring to the attention of the English people the continuing occupation of our country." The bombing resulted in the deaths of Lord Mountbatten himself, his grandson Nicholas (14 years), the boat boy Paul Maxwell (15 years), and the Dowager Lady Brabourne (82 years). One witness said the bomb blew the boat "to smithereens", and once Lord Mountbatten was rescued, his legs were extremely injured and he died soon after. It was a terribly dramatic and violently quick way to die, and especially since he has lived through so much war and killing as a naval officer.
   This raises the question of whether the Royal Family are in fact safe. Should they have more protection, or should they be given the same security as the general public?