Nadejda Mikhailovna Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (née Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby, until 1917 Princess George of Battenberg; 28 March 1896 – 22 January 1963), was a member of the Russian imperial family who married a German prince but became a British subject and aristocrat. She was a close relative of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

. She was born and died in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, on the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

Life

Countess Nadejda de Torby was the second daughter of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia and his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife Countess Sophie of Merenberg. She was a younger sister of Countess Anastasia de Torby. Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia with his children

Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia with his children

Her paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and Princess Cecily of Baden. Michael was the seventh and last child of

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

and Charlotte of Prussia. Her mother was the daughter of Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau and his morganatic wife Natalia Pushkina, Countess of Merenberg, daughter of

Aleksander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is conside ...

, who in turn was a great-grandson of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

's African protégé, Abram Petrovich Gannibal. Nicknamed "Nada", she attended the 1914 Kenwood House ball given in her and her sister's name, arranged to mark her coming-out at 18 years of age. She married Prince George of Battenberg, later the 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on 15 November 1916. They had two children: Lady Tatiana Elizabeth Mountbatten (16 December 1917 – 15 May 1988), who died unmarried, and David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven (12 May 1919 – 14 April 1970), father of the present Marquess. During the 1934

Gloria Vanderbilt Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, ...

custody trial, a former maid of

Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt (born Maria Mercedes Morgan; 23 August 1904 13 February 1965) was an American socialite. Vanderbilt was the mother of fashion designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt and maternal grandmother of television journalist Anders ...

's offered testimony regarding a possible lesbian relationship between Lady Milford Haven and her former employer. Lady Milford Haven also appeared as a witness at the trial. Before leaving for the United States to testify, Lady Milford Haven publicly denounced the maid's testimony as ''"a set of malicious, terrible lies".'' However, in June 2022 her grandson

Lord Ivar Mountbatten Lord Ivar Alexander Michael Mountbatten, DL (born 9 March 1963) is a British aristocrat, farmer, geologist, reality TV personality and businessman. He is a former director of SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica. He is the firs ...

stated in an interview with the ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

'' "my aunt icNada was a lesbian." So far there is no personal account of Nadejda, that is publicly published, that indicates that she was a lesbian. Nada and her sister-in-law, Edwina Mountbatten (wife of

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

), were extremely close friends and the two frequently went together on rather daring adventures, travelling rough in difficult and often dangerous parts of the world. Lady Milford Haven died in

, France, in 1963.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milford Haven, Nadejda Mountbatten, Marchioness of 1896 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Russian people 20th-century Russian women Nadejda British marchionesses Princesses in the German Empire Countesses of the Russian Empire Princesses by marriage Morganatic issue of Romanovs Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France

Life

Ancestry

See also

References

External links