Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

George Louis Victor Henry Serge Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, (6 November 1892Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: ''901''; Laufende Nummer: ''150'' – 8 April 1938), born Prince George of Battenberg, styled

Earl of Medina Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

between 1917 and 1921, was a Royal Navy officer and the elder son of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (Prince Louis of Battenberg), and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.

Biography

Prince George of Battenberg, as he then was, was born at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

, then ruled by his maternal uncle Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse. From birth, he was a prince of the Hessian royal family, albeit of a morganatic branch. His siblings were Princess Alice (mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to whom he was a mentor in Philip's adolescence), Queen Louise of Sweden and

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

(who assumed the role of Philip's mentor after George's death). George followed his father into the Royal Navy, and after passing out from the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, was promoted to

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

on 15 January 1913. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 February 1914, and served in the First World War. In 1917, his father and several of his relations relinquished their German names, styles and titles in exchange for British peerages at the behest of George V. Accordingly, Prince George dropped the style of '' Serene Highness'' and his surname was anglicised to "Mountbatten." When his father was created Marquess of Milford Haven in late 1917, George received the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of ''Earl of Medina'', succeeding to his father's peerage after his death in September 1921. During the war, George's aunt Empress Alexandra of Russia along with his uncle by marriage Nicholas II of Russia, five cousins and another aunt

Elisabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...

were killed by

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

revolutionaries. Lord Milford Haven, as George was now known, remained in the Royal Navy after the war; he was promoted to lieutenant-commander on 15 February 1922 and to commander on 31 December 1926. In 1932, he retired from active service at his own request, with effect from 9 December of that year. On 6 November 1937, shortly before his death, he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on the retired list. An accomplished mathematician, the

Marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

"could work out complicated gunnery problems in his head" and "read books on calculus casually on trains".

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, his niece-in-law, considered him "one of the most intelligent and brilliant of people".

Marriage and issue

Prince George of Battenberg, as he then was known, married Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby (daughter of Russian

Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich Romanov Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. He was raised in the C ...

and his morganatic wife, Countess Sophie von Merenberg) on 15 November 1916 at the Russian Embassy, Welbeck Street, London. They lived at Lynden Manor at Holyport in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and had two children: *

Lady Tatiana Elizabeth Mountbatten The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...

( Edinburgh, Scotland, 16 December 1917 –

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, England, 15 May 1988) * David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven ( Edinburgh, Scotland, 12 May 1919 – London, England 14 April 1970).

Death

Lord Milford Haven died of

bone marrow cancer Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...

, aged 45, and was buried in Bray Cemetery, Bray,

Legacy to the British Museum

Lord Milford Haven left artifacts, including a collection of pornography, to the British Museum.

Honours

* Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 1916
''Milford Haven (1917)'' ''Cracroft's Peerage''. Retrieved 3 January 2014. * Order of St Vladimir, 4th class, with Swords, authorised to wear 5 June 1917 * Knight of the Military Order of Savoy, authorised to wear 11 August 1917 * Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 1932

Arms

Ancestry

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milford Haven, George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess Of 1892 births 1938 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Deaths from multiple myeloma Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom People from Bray, Berkshire Royal Navy officers of World War I George German princes Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Marquesses of Milford Haven German emigrants to the United Kingdom