In the mid-1930s, Hutch is rumoured to have had a lengthy affair with Edwina Mountbatten which scandalized the British upper classes, becoming the subject of tabloid foder, and an embarrassment to Lady Mountbatten's royal in-laws. The Mountbattens sued the tabloids for libel.[4] As a result of the scandal, Hutch was shunned by many of his former patrons.