The Day Mountbatten Died remembers the day in 1979 when a member of the Royal Family was murdered
Marking the 40th anniversary of the death of Lord Mountbatten, this emotionally-raw documentary recalls the chilling day the IRA assassinated a member of the Royal Family.
A great-uncle and close mentor of Prince Charles, Louis Mountbatten was killed while holidaying in Ireland, after an IRA bomb planted on his fishing boat went off.
With heartbreaking stories from locals involved in the 1979 rescue operation, as well as Louis’ granddaughter, India Hicks, who was holidaying with the family at the time.
She remembers the day well, as she told TV Times: "Going out on the boat was the heart of our family holidays. I went out on it a lot but that day I stayed behind."
And she recalls her reaction when the terrible news came in: "I remember running down to the beach, going over in my mind, ‘27th August, 27th August… 1979… I’m never going to forget that date.’ And I don’t."
The documentary also covers the IRA’s ambush and killing of 18 British soldiers, near Warrenpoint in County Down, that same day.
TV Times rating: ****
The Day Mountbatten Died airs on BBC1 in Northern Ireland
