The Crown season 4 begins with an explosive first episode, setting Netflix's flagship's show stall out for one of the most turbulent periods of Queen Elizabeth II's reign with the assassination of a major character. At the end of an episode marked by Prince Charles' first meeting with Diana Spencer and the start of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister, Charles Dance's surrogate father figure to Charles was blown up off the coast of Ireland in 1979.
After season 3 explored Charles' difficult relationship with his father, Philip, and how Mountbatten took over the role as he had for Philip himself, The Crown season 4 kicked off a more focused look into Charles' psyche. His marriage to Diana offers the show the opportunity to explore Charles' need for affirmation, attention, and praise, in the face of the sweeping "Dianamania" that reinvigorated the Crown's popularity in the 1980s and early '90s and forced evolution of sorts. In a way, Mountbatten's death being chosen as the opening of season 4 marks the end of the old guard - which is explored more pertinently when an intruder enters Buckingham Palace in a later episode and comments on how dilapidated it all seems - and the move into the more modern period of Royalism.
Mountbatten's assassination was a watershed moment for the royal family and for the British political relationship with the Irish Republican Party, which claimed responsibility as briefly mentioned in the episode. But because Mountbatten's death is presented mostly in of what it means to Charles and Philip's relationship, and how it informs Charles' dynamic with Diana, the real story of what happened and why is somewhat overlooked, when it could and should have been explored more for an insight into the Irish Troubles.
Who Killed Mountbatten
Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed by the IRA, a paramilitary organization established to challenge the legitimacy of British rule (and the perceived occupation) of Northern Ireland. The group grew in prominence and activity during The Troubles between 1968 and 1998, with Mountbatten's assassination proving to be one of their most notorious crimes. The royal had been a target previously, with an earlier attempt on his life thwarted only by bad weather, which The Crown chose to leave out, despite its pertinence. Crucially, Mountbatten knew he was under threat, having been warned he was the most likely target of a plot to assassinate a member of the royal family and ignored advice to travel to Classiebawn Castle, his country house in County Sligo for his family's annual trip. He was killed, as The Crown showed, while on a fishing trip with his teenage grandson, Nicholas Knatchbull. Nicholas's paternal grandmother and estate worker, 15-year-old Paul Maxwell, were both also killed, but, stunningly three survived, including Nicholas' twin brother Timothy.
Eventually, Provisional IRA bombmaker Thomas McMahon, 31, was found guilty of the bombing and was sentenced to life, serving 19 years before he was released as part of the Good Friday Agreement. The Crown refers to 18 victims of roadside bombings and the chilling statement "Thirteen gone but not forgotten—we got 18 and Mountbatten" - which in reality was based on graffiti painted on a wall following the killing. The Warrenpoint bombs and Mountbatten's assassination were presented as revenge for Bloody Sunday, a massacre by British troops in Derry in 1972 that saw 26 unarmed civilian protestors shot and 13 killed, but Mountbatten's choice was very precise.
Why Mountbatten Was Killed
Mountbatten was seen as an easy target, not least because of his defiant reaction to the threat on his life - he questioned why anyone would target an "old man" but the IRA chose him to send a message that anyone could be a target. The IRA statement released to claim responsibility for his killing explained in greater detail that "To Irish Republicans, Lord Mountbatten was the ultimate symbol of imperialist oppression. Each year he came to sit in his castle on land stolen by the English. He knew the risks in coming here, and his death represents a legitimate blow against an enemy target."
Prince Charles' reaction was initially as pained as it was shown in The Crown, which was captured in his diary. In it, he spoke of his "fierce and violent determination to see that something was done about the IRA" and while he vowed not to forgive, he later expressed some understanding of the pain of the Irish republicans who had carried out the bombing. That came in 2015 when it's likely The Crown timeline will have ended, but the fallout from his death is bound to have more of an impact on Charles in season 5 and beyond.