The last Viceroy of British India was:

Lord Louis Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of British India, from March 1947 to August 1947.

About Lord Mountbatten:

• He was born in 1900, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria and a cousin of King George VI.
• He was a naval officer who served as the Supreme Allied Commander of South-East Asia Command during the Second World War.
• He was sent to India in March 1947 to arrange the transfer of power, replacing Lord Wavell.

His role in the transfer of power:

• He realised that the Congress and the Muslim League could not agree on a united India.
• He prepared a plan for the partition of India, announced on 3 June 1947 ("Mountbatten Plan" or "3 June Plan").
• The plan provided for the creation of two dominions, India and Pakistan, and the partition of Punjab and Bengal.
• He brought forward the date of transfer of power to 15 August 1947.
• The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament in July 1947, based on this plan.
• The Boundary Commission, headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, drew the borders between India and Pakistan.

After Independence:

• He became the first Governor-General of independent India (August 1947 to June 1948), at the invitation of Indian leaders.
• He helped in the integration of the princely states into India.
• Pakistan chose Muhammad Ali Jinnah as its first Governor-General.

His death:

He was killed in 1979 by a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on his boat in Ireland.

His wife:

Edwina Mountbatten took part in relief work for the refugees of Partition.

Viceroys of the last years:

• Lord Linlithgow (1936-1943): the longest-serving Viceroy; the Quit India Movement.
• Lord Wavell (1943-1947).
• Lord Mountbatten (1947).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Lord Wavell was his predecessor.
• ✗Lord Linlithgow and Lord Irwin were earlier Viceroys.