Admiral of the Fleet 'Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven',
GCB,
GCVO,
KCMG,
PC (
24 May 1854 –
11 September 1921), formerly 'Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg', was a minor
German prince who married a granddaughter of Britain's
Queen Victoria and pursued a distinguished career in the
United Kingdom's Royal Navy, becoming a protégé of his future king,
Edward VII.
The Queen and Edward, when Prince of Wales, occasionally intervened in his career—the Queen thought that there was "a belief that the Admiralty are afraid of promoting Officers who are Princes on account of the radical attacks of low papers and scurrilous ones".
[4] However, Louis welcomed battle assignments that provided opportunities for him to acquire the skills of war and to demonstrate to his superiors that he was serious about his naval career. Posts on royal yachts and tours actually impeded his progress, as his promotions were perceived as royal favours rather than deserved.
[5] However, he rose through the command ranks on his own merit and eventually served as
First Sea Lord, the senior uniformed officer in the Royal Navy, from 1912 to 1914 until he was forced to resign when anti-German feeling was running high at the start of
World War I.
He was the father of
Earl Mountbatten of Burma and
Queen Louise of Sweden, and was the maternal grandfather of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen
Elizabeth II. One of his younger brothers,
Prince Alexander of Battenberg, was selected with the approval of Europe's
Great Powers to mount the throne of
Bulgaria, where he reigned as
sovereign Prince from 1879 to 1886.
Early life
''His
Illustrious Highness Count Louis (Ludwig) Alexander of
Battenberg'' was born in
Graz,
Austria, the eldest son of
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine by his
morganatic marriage to
Countess Julia von Hauke. Denied his father's
dynastic rights and
rank in
Hesse, from birth he shared the countly title and "Illustrious"
style conferred upon his mother at the time of her marriage, automatically becoming ''
His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg'' when she was elevated to ''Princess of Battenberg'' with the style of ''Serene Highness'' by decree of her husband's brother,
Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse on
26 December 1858.
Shortly after his birth, Louis's father was stationed with the
Austro-Hungarian Army of occupation in Northern
Italy during the
Second Italian War of Independence, and Louis's early years were spent either there or at Prince Alexander's two houses in Hesse, the castle of Heiligenberg in
Jugenheim and the Alexander Palace in
Darmstadt. His mother spoke French to him but he had an English governess, and as a consequence grew up trilingual.
[6]
Amongst the visitors entertained at Heiligenberg were Prince Alexander's relations, the
Russian Imperial family, and his cousin,
Prince Louis of Hesse.
[7] Influenced by his cousin's wife,
Princess Alice, a daughter of
Queen Victoria's, and
Prince Alfred, another of Queen Victoria's children, Louis became a naturalized
British subject and joined the
Royal Navy on
3 October 1868, at the age of fourteen. He was enlisted as a naval cadet aboard HMS ''
Victory'',
Nelson's old flagship.
[8] In January of the following year, the
Prince and
Princess of Wales cruised the
Mediterranean and
Black Seas in the frigate ''Ariadne'', and the Prince of Wales requested that Louis be appointed to the vessel,
[9] before his training was complete.
[10] As part of the same tour, Louis also accompanied them on a visit to
Egypt, visiting the construction site of the
Suez canal. As was traditional, the
Khedive bestowed honours on the party and Louis received the Medjidieh (Fourth Class).
[11] In April, he received the Osmanieh (Fourth Class) from the
Ottoman Sultan.
[12]
Early naval career
Prince Louis of Battenberg photographed by Carl Backofen in Darmstadt, 1869
Having returned to Britain in May, in June he was appointed to the ''Royal Alfred'', the flagship of the
North America and
West Indies station, where he was rated as
midshipman in October.
[13] From June to September 1870 he took leave in
Germany, coinciding with the
Franco-Prussian war,
[14] but he spent the next three-and-a-half years in the Americas, where his tour of duty served to make up for the training he had missed whilst posted with the Prince of Wales on the ''Ariadne''.
[15] Returning to Europe in early 1874, he was posted to the shore establishment HMS ''
Excellent'',
[16] and passed the Sub-Lieutenant's examinations—gaining the best marks ever recorded at seamanship and joint best ever at gunnery.
[17]
In 1875, again at the invitation of the Prince of Wales, he joined the ''
Serapis'', the ship which conducted the Prince on an official tour of
India, 1875–1876.
[18] Louis sketched some of the events of the tour and his drawings were published in the
Illustrated London News.
[19] The Prince asked Louis to stay with him at
Marlborough House for the summer of 1876, but wishing to gain further experience at sea, Louis turned him down and instead accepted an offer to join Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, as a Lieutenant onboard the ''
Sultan''.
[20] In addition to acting as the Duke's equerry, Louis had to continue with his naval duties. He did not enjoy the position, as the Duke was rather touchy
[21] and Louis's cabin was infested with rats, one of which he caught with his bare hands in bed as it ran across his chest.
[22] The ''Sultan'' toured the Mediterranean from July 1876.
In late February–early March 1878 Louis was still serving on the ''Sultan'' as it lay in the
Bosphorus during the
Russo-Turkish war. He was criticized for visiting his brother,
Prince Alexander, who was serving with the Russian forces, but an investigation cleared both of them and Prince Alfred of any wrongdoing.
[23] For the next two years he served on the ''
Agincourt'' and on the Royal Yacht ''Osborne''. But in October 1879 he refused further service on the Royal Yacht, saying it was damaging his professional career, and requested half-pay until he could be given an active duty.
[24] On
17 February 1880 he, his father and
Tsar Alexander II witnessed an explosion at the
Winter Palace when Stephen Chalturin unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the Tsar with dynamite beneath the great dining room.
[25][26]
HMS ''Agincourt'' c.1878
On
24 August 1880 Louis was posted to the ''
Inconstant'', the flag-ship of the Flying Squadron, which included ''Bacchante'' on which Princes
Albert Victor and
George were serving. The ship sailed to
South America,
South Africa,
Australia,
Fiji,
Japan,
China,
Hong Kong,
Singapore and the
Dutch East Indies, before returning to
South Africa in April 1882.
[27] Seven months after Louis had left Britain on the voyage, actress
Lillie Langtry allegedly bore him an illegitimate daughter,
Jeanne Marie. Mrs. Langtry was also a one-time mistress of the Prince of Wales. As to whether Louis was in fact the father has never been completely verified but a financial settlement was made.
[28][29][30]
From South Africa the ''Inconstant'' sailed to
St Helena, and the
Cape Verde Islands, where the squadron received orders to proceed to
Gibraltar, and from there to
Malta and Egypt to take part in the
Egyptian intervention.
[31] On
11 July 1882,
Alexandria was bombarded and in the next two weeks Louis served in the Flying Squadron delivering shells and ammunition to the battle fleet, and then as a guard to the Khedive at
Ras Al Teen Palace.
[32] He was decorated with the Egypt War Medal by Queen Victoria personally.
[33]
In November 1882, he left the ''Inconstant'', spent Christmas in
Darmstadt, and in March the following year visited his brother, Prince Alexander, in
Bulgaria, of which Alexander had been made Sovereign Prince.
[34] Louis accompanied his brother on a state visit to
Turkey and then on a tour of
Cyprus and the
Holy Land with the Turkish navy, during which Louis was appalled at the lack of seamanship—the Turkish captains were unable to navigate and had to hug the coast in order not to get lost; when they did leave the coast they became so disoriented that they were unable to steer for
Jaffa. On its return journey the ship they had travelled on grounded.
[35]
Marriage and family
Prince Louis of Battenberg photographed by Elliott and Fry in London, 1884
In September 1883, Queen Victoria appointed him to her yacht, ''Victoria and Albert''. On
30 April 1884 in the presence of the Queen, Prince Louis married her granddaughter,
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (
5 April 1863 –
24 September 1950) at
Darmstadt.
[36] His wife was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria's second daughter
Alice by
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Through the Hesse family, Prince and Princess Louis of Battenberg were first cousins once removed. They had known each other since childhood,
[37] and invariably spoke English to each other.
[38] As wedding presents Louis received the British
Order of the Bath and the Star and Chain of the
Hessian Order of Louis.
[39]
Louis and Victoria had four children:
★ HSH Princess
Alice (
25 February 1885 –
5 December 1969) m. HRH
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (
1 February 1882 –
3 December 1944). Among her children is
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh;
★ HSH Princess
Louise, later styled Lady Louise Mountbatten (
13 July 1889 –
2 March 1965) m. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, later King
Gustaf VI Adolf (
11 November 1882 –
15 September 1973);
★ HSH Prince
George, who became George Mountbatten, Earl of Medina in 1917, and succeeded his father as 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven in 1921, (
6 November 1892 –
8 April 1938) m.
Countess Nadejda (Nada) de Torby (
28 March 1896 –
22 January 1963); and
★ HSH Prince
Louis, later 1st
Earl Mountbatten of Burma (
25 June 1900 –
August 27 1979) m. Edwina Ashley (
28 November 1900 –
21 February 1960).
[40]
One of Louis's younger brothers,
Prince Henry of Battenberg), married
Princess Beatrice, the youngest child of
Queen Victoria, and took up residence with the Queen in Britain so that she could continue to serve as her mother's companion and private secretary.
[41]
Later naval career
HMS ''Dreadnought'' c.1894
On his penultimate day aboard the Queen's yacht,
30 August 1885, he was promoted to
Commander.
[42] The next four years were spent in ''
Excellent'' and ''Vernon'' on half-pay, at HMS ''Cambridge'' very briefly at
Milford Haven in August 1886, and onboard
HMS ''Dreadnought'' in the Mediterranean.
[43] Irish nationalist Member of Parliament Willie Redmond questioned the appointment to ''Dreadnought'' in the
British House of Commons, suggesting it was due to royal favour—a suggestion denied by the
First Lord of the Admiralty,
Lord George Hamilton.
[44] On
3 October 1889 he was appointed to his first independent command, HMS ''Scout'', a torpedo-cruiser, which saw service in the
Red Sea.
[45]
On
31 December 1891 Prince Louis rose to the rank of
captain[46] and became an aide-de-camp to the Queen, a post he would retain under both King Edward VII and
King George V.
[47] At the beginning of the following year, he was appointed naval advisor to the inspector-general of fortifications. His role was to liaise between the navy and the military in order to ensure a co-ordinated defence.
28 Traditionally, there was a great deal of friction between the two services, but Louis exercised his social skills in the role, leading
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge to write to him, "You have produced a mutual feeling of goodwill and unanimity which I have always wished to see established, and which, by your tact and sound judgement, you have brought about to the fullest extent."
[48] By February 1894 this role was further developed when he was appointed joint secretary of the naval and military committee on defence, which was later renamed the
Committee of Imperial Defence.
28 Louis captained the ''Cambrian'' in the Mediterranean Fleet from October 1894 to May 1897 and the ''
Majestic'' in the Channel Fleet from June 1897.
[49] His careful study of both naval and military defence, as well as its interaction, led to his appointment as Assistant Director of the
Naval Intelligence Division in June 1899.
[50] He used his relationships with the royal houses of Europe to gather intelligence on the naval fleets of other nations, which he passed onto the Admiralty in full and detailed reports.
[51]
After a year as captain of
HMS ''Implacable'' in the Mediterranean, during which he spectacularly defeated a larger opposing force during naval exercises,
[52] Louis was appointed as
Director of Naval Intelligence in November 1902.
[53] He was promoted to
rear admiral on
1 July 1904, in which year his family connections to the royal courts of Europe helped resolve the
Dogger Bank incident peacefully.
28 The following February, he was given command of the second cruiser squadron, with
HMS ''Drake'' as his flag ship. During a successful two years the squadron visited
Greece,
Portugal,
Canada, and the
United States, where the American press commented favourably on Prince Louis's courtesy, unassuming manner and democratic nature.
[54] After two years at the head of the second cruiser squadron, and further visits to
Spain (where his niece
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was Queen), he was appointed second-in-command of the
Mediterranean fleet as acting vice-admiral with
HMS ''Venerable'' as his flagship.
[55]
After less than six months in post his flag was transferred to
HMS ''Prince of Wales'' in August 1907. The following year, he was promoted to Vice-Admiral, and appointed as Commander-in-Chief,
Atlantic Fleet. In 1909, he published a translation of Commander Vladimir Semenoff's ''Rasplata'' (The Reckoning), a memoir of the
Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5, and witnessed the first crossing of the
English Channel by air by
Louis Blériot.
[56] He was appointed as commander of the newly constituted Third and Fourth Divisions of the
Home Fleet two years later. The years immediately preceding this appointment were marred by disagreements between Admirals
Jacky Fisher and
Lord Charles Beresford over the direction of the navy and the imposition of reforms. Louis largely supported Fisher's modernising efforts, although he disapproved of Fisher's methods, and as a result Fisher's opponents attempted to prevent Louis's promotions.
[57] Eventually, both Beresford and Fisher left active service but Fisher's reforms were retained. Fisher recommended Louis as
First Sea Lord: "He is the most capable administrator in the Admiralty's list by a long way"
[58] but elements of the British press were against his appointment on the grounds that he was a German saying it was "a crime against our Empire to trust our secrets of National Defence to any alien-born official."
[59] In December 1911, Louis did return to the
Admiralty but as
Second rather than First Sea Lord. As Second Sea Lord, Louis pushed through improvements in working conditions for the enlisted men, and created a Naval War Staff that would prepare the navy's plans in case of war.
[60]
However, almost a year to the day later, on
8 December 1912, Prince Louis assumed the post of First Sea Lord in succession to
Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman, who had retired in ill-health.
[61] In that capacity, he was responsible to the
First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill for the readiness of the fleet and the preparation of naval strategy, as well as the development of a scheme for state insurance of merchant vessels in times of war, which was to prove essential in preventing prohibitive insurance rates that would have stifled British trade.
[62] On the eve of
World War I he unilaterally
[63] made the crucial decision to cancel the scheduled dispersal of the British fleet following practice manoeuvres in order to preserve the Royal Navy's battle readiness.
[64]28 Nonetheless with the outbreak of war, rising anti-German sentiment among the British public, newspapers, and elite
gentlemen's clubs (where resentment was inflamed by Admiral
Lord Charles Beresford despite Churchill's remonstrances)
[65] drove Churchill to ask Prince Louis to resign as
First Sea Lord on
27 October 1914,
[66] which Louis did amidst an outpouring of appreciation from politicians and his naval comrades.
The King swore Louis in as a
Privy Councillor in a public show of support.
28 Labour party politician and
trade union leader,
J. H. Thomas wrote to ''
The Times'': "I desire to express my extreme regret at the announcement that Prince Louis of Battenberg has, by his resignation, pandered to the most mean and contemptible slander I have ever known … I was simply astounded to hear the base suggestions and rumours current, and I am afraid that his action will simply be looked upon as a triumph for the mean and miserable section of people, who, at a time of national trial, is ever ready to pass a foul lie from lip to lip without a tittle of evidence."
[67] Admiral of the Fleet John Hay thought that the "ingeniously propagated lies" originated from
Germany.
[68] Prince Louis held no official post for the remainder of the war and lived in retirement at Kent House on the
Isle of Wight.
[69] He occupied his time in writing a comprehensive encyclopedia on Naval Medals published in three large volumes, which became the standard reference work on the subject.
[70] His naval career had been characterised by industry, invention and intellect; he introduced mechanical calculators to compute navigations and a cone signalling apparatus.
28 Although assured that he would be returned to command post-war, he was asked to retire from the Navy's active list in 1918.
[71]
Adoption of the surname Mountbatten
A 1917 ''
Punch'' cartoon depicting King George V sweeping away the German titles held by members of his family.
Persistent rumours that the
British Royal Family must be pro-German, given their dynastic origins and many German relatives, prompted the King to abandon his subsidiary German dynastic titles and adopt an
English surname. At the behest of the King, Louis relinquished the title Prince of Battenberg in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and also the style of Serene Highness, on
14 July 1917. At the same time, Louis anglicized his family name, changing it from "
Battenberg" to "
Mountbatten," having considered but rejected "Battenhill" as an alternative.
[72] On
17 July, the King created him ''
Marquess of Milford Haven, Earl of Medina, and Viscount Alderney'' in the
peerage of the United Kingdom.
[73] The King's British relatives in the
Teck,
Schleswig-Holstein and
Gleichen families underwent similar changes. Louis's wife ceased to use her own title of Princess of Hesse and became known as the Marchioness of Milford Haven. His three younger children ceased to use their princely titles and assumed courtesy titles as children of a British marquess; his eldest daughter, Princess Alice, had married into the Greek royal family in 1903, and never had occasion to use the surname Mountbatten. However, her only son,
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, adopted the name when he became a British subject in 1947.
[74]
While the transition in names and titles was being effected, Louis spent some time at the home of his eldest son, George, who had married
Countess Nadejda (Nada) de Torby the year before.
[75] After anglicizing his surname to ''Mountbatten'' and becoming Marquess of Milford Haven, Louis wrote in his son's guestbook, "Arrived Prince Hyde, Departed Lord
Jekyll".
[76]
During the war, two of Louis's sisters-in-law were murdered by the
Bolsheviks in Russia. Eventually, in January 1921, after a long and convoluted journey, the body of his sister-in-law
Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna of Russia was interred in
Jerusalem in the presence of Louis and his wife.
[77]
Final years and death
In 1919, the Mountbattens had to give up their home, Kent House, for financial reasons.
[78] He sold his collection of naval medals. All of his financial investments in
Russia were seized by the Bolsheviks and his German property became valueless with the collapse of the
mark.
[79] He sold Heiligenberg Castle, which he had inherited from his father, in 1920.
[80][81]
Louis was promoted to the rank of
Admiral of the Fleet and awarded a second GCB in recognition of his service to the
Royal Navy in August 1921.
[82] A few days later he joined
HMS ''Repulse'', the ship on which his son Louis was serving, for a week at the invitation of the captain
Dudley Pound.
[83] It was his last voyage; he died at 42 Half Moon Street,
Piccadilly,
London in the annexe of the
Naval & Military Club on
11 September 1921 of heart failure following
influenza. After a funeral service at
Westminster Abbey, his remains were buried at Whippingham Church on the
Isle of Wight.
79
Louis's elder son,
George Mountbatten, who had received the courtesy title Earl of Medina, succeeded him as 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven.
Louis's younger son, styled Lord Louis Mountbatten after 1917, served as the last
Viceroy of India and was created Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1947.
Titles from birth to death
★ ''His Illustrious Highness'' Count Louis of Battenberg (1854–1858)
★ ''His Serene Highness'' Prince Louis of Battenberg (1858–1917)
★ The Rt. Hon. Sir Louis Mountbatten (14–17 July 1917)
★ The Most Hon. The Marquess of Milford Haven (1917–1921)
Ancestors
Notes and sources
1. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, , Charles (ed.), Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Gentry LLC, 2003,
2. The Complete Peerage, , G.E., Cokayne, St Catherine Press, 1940,
3. The Titled Nobility of Europe, , Marquis of, Ruvigny, Harrison and Sons, 1914,
4. Queen Victoria to First Lord of the Admiralty Lord George Hamilton 5 September 1891, Royal Archives E5 6/45
5. Louis and Victoria: The Family History of the Mountbattens. Second edition, , Richard, Hough, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984,
6. Prince Louis of Battenberg, , Mark, Kerr, Longmans, Green and Co, 1934,
7. Hough, p.20
8. Kerr, pp.7–8
9. Kerr, p.9–10
10. Hough, p.61
11. Kerr, p.14–16
12. Kerr, p.18
13. Kerr, p.19–23
14. Kerr, pp.25–27
15. Hough, pp.67, 69 and 73
16. Kerr, p.34 and p.xiii
17. Hough, p.76
18. Kerr, p.36
19. Hough, p.80
20. Kerr, p.51
21. Kerr, p.63 and Hough, p.87
22. Kerr, p.64
23. Kerr, p.69
24. Kerr, p.70
25. Hough, pp.95–96
26. A year later, the Tsar was killed by a bomb thrown by another assassin.
27. Kerr, pp.71-99
28.
29. Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece, , Hugo, Vickers, Hamish Hamilton, 2000,
30. Hough, pp.97–98
31. Kerr, p.100
32. Kerr, p.101
33. Hough, p.105
34. Kerr, p.103
35. Kerr, p.106
36. Kerr, p.107
37. Vickers, p.7
38. Kerr, p.109 and Vickers, p.20
39. Hough, p.119
40. She was co-heiress of the vast banking fortune of her maternal grandfather, Sir Ernest Cassel; daughter of Wilfred Ashley, later Baron Mount Temple; and male-line great-granddaughter of the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury.
41.
42. Kerr, p.xii
43. Kerr, p.xiii and p.110
44. Mountbatten, , Philip, Ziegler, Collins, 1985,
45. Kerr, pp.111–114
46. Kerr, p.166
47. Kerr, p.138
48. Kerr, p.118
49. Kerr, pp.121–122
50. Kerr, p.xiv
51. Hough, pp.179, 185–186
52. Hough, p.223–225
53. Kerr, pp.142–157
54. Kerr, p.185–206
55. Kerr, pp.214–221
56. Kerr, pp.230–231
57. Hough, pp.237–239
58. Jacky Fisher to Winston Churchill 25 October 1911 quoted in Hough, p.245
59. Horatio Bottomley in ''John Bull'' 2 November 1911 quoted in Hough, p.246
60. Hough, pp.244–256
61. Kerr, p.238
62. Hough, p.272
63. Churchill was away for the weekend (25–26 July) but was consulted about, and approved Prince Louis's decision.
64. Kerr, p.243
65. Hough, pp.302–303
66. Hough, p.307
67. ''The Times (London)'' November 4 1914
68. ''The Times (London)'' November 1 1914
69. Kerr, p.259
70. Kerr, p.265
71. Hough, p.330
72. Hough, p.317
73. The London Gazette
74. Royal Family name
75. Nada de Torby (28 March 1896 – 22 January 1963) was the morganatic daughter of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia by Countess Sophie von Merenberg, Countess Torby, herself the daughter of a morganatic marriage between Prince Nicholas of Nassau and Natalia Aleksandrovna Pushkin, daughter of Alexander Pushkin.
76. Kerr, p.289
77. Kerr, p.261
78. Kerr, p.290
79. Kerr, p.293
80. Vickers, p.155
81. Of the family's two residences in Hesse, the Alexander Palace in Darmstadt returned to the grand duchy as part of the appanaged patrimony of Louis's father, Prince Alexander of Hesse, from which his children by Julia, Princess of Battenberg were debarred. However, the castle of Heiligenberg in Jugenheim had been bequeathed to Prince Alexander as personal property.
82. Hough, p.332
83. Ziegler, p.60
References
★
Louis and Victoria: The Family History of the Mountbattens. Second edition, , Richard, Hough, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984,
★
★
Prince Louis of Battenberg, , Admiral Mark, Kerr, Longmans, Green and Co., 1934,
★
Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece, , Hugo, Vickers, Hamish Hamilton, 2000,
★
Mountbatten, , Philip, Ziegler, Collins, 1985,
Further reading
★
Queen Victoria's Descendants, , Marlene A., Eilers, Atlantic International Publishing, 1987,
★
The Life and Times of Lord Mountbatten, , John, Terraine, Arrow Books Ltd., 1980,
External links
★
Synopsis of military career
★
mountbattenofburma.com - Tribute & Memorial website to Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
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