King Charles had a close relationship with the late Lord Mountbatten (Picture: Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty)
King Charles’s late great-uncle Lord Mountbatten has been accused of abusing an 11-year-old boy at a notorious children’s home in the 1970s.
Arthur Smyth, a former resident of the Kincora home in Belfast, has waived his right to anonymity to make the allegations against the influential royal.
Lord Mountbatten – known as ‘Uncle Dickie’ in royal circles – was a close mentor to Charles up until his death at the hands of the IRA, who detonated a bomb on his boat, killing him and three others in 1979.
Mr Smyth’s solicitor, Kevin Winters, said the legal proceedings allege negligence and breach of duty of care and were being brought against a number of institutions in Northern Ireland.
A summons has been filed which is set to be issued in the High Court in Belfast on Tuesday.
Mr Winters said: ‘Central to the case are our client’s allegations of abuse by the late Lord Louis Mountbatten.
‘Understandably many abuse survivors for reasons of obvious sensitivity choose to remain anonymous. Arthur’s decision to reveal his identity must be set against this backdrop.
Lord Mountbatten served as Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy (Picture: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty)
‘It is borne out of anger at systemic state cover-up on abuse at these institutions.
‘He alleges to have been abused twice as an 11-year-old by the deceased royal.
‘It’s the first time that someone has stepped forward to take allegations against Lord Mountbatten into a court. That decision hasn’t been taken lightly.
‘He understands only too well that it will be a deeply unpopular case with many people coming as it does within weeks of the passing of the Queen.’
The Kincora home opened on Belfast’s Upper Newtownards Road, close to Stormont’s Parliament Buildings, in May 1958, and closed in October 1980 after a sex abuse scandal.
Lord Mountbatten was killed by the IRA in 1979 (Picture: IWM/Getty)
A Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry found 39 boys were abused at Kincora, leading to three men being jailed for the abuse of 11 boys.
However, it found no evidence that security agencies were complicit in the abuse.
A recent report by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (Poni) Marie Anderson said complaints from some former residents’ about the failure of police to investigate allegations of sexual abuse at Kincora were ‘legitimate and justified’.
Mr Winters added: ‘The recent Poni report into Kincora despite a welcome finding on police investigative failures only scratches the surface of what really went on.’
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Lord Mountbatten – known as ‘Uncle Dickie’ in royal circles – was a close mentor to Charles up until his death at the hands of the IRA.