Lord Louis Mountbatten was born in Windsor in 1900 to German aristocratic parents. He served in the First World War in 1916 with the Royal Navy, and continued his naval service during the inter-war period and during the Second World War.

Lord Mountbatten was appointed Viceroy of India in March 1947 with a mandate to transfer power to India by June 1948. He had not served or worked in India before this point. Upon arriving in India he established a good working relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru, leader of the Indian National Congress, but not with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League. Lord Mountbatten was unable to negotiate a plan for the transfer of British power that won support from all Indian politicians. On 3rd June 1947 he announced the plan for partition and that the date of transition was to be brought forward by a year to 15th August 1947.