The Marquess of Milford Haven | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Philip de László, 1909 | |
| First Sea Lord | |
| In office 8 December 1912 – 28 October 1914 | |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Sir Francis Bridgeman |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Fisher |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Hereditary peerage 7 November 1917 – 11 September 1921 Marquess of Milford Haven | |
| Preceded by | New creation |
| Succeeded by | George Mountbatten |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Count Louis Alexander of Battenberg 24 May 1854 Graz, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 11 September 1921 (aged 67) Piccadilly, London, England |
| Resting place | St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham, Isle of Wight |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1868–1914 |
| Commands |
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| Battles/wars | Anglo-Egyptian War |
| Awards | See list |
Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (24 May 1854 – 11 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British royal family.
Although born in Austria, and brought up in Italy and Germany, Louis enrolled in the British Royal Navy at the age of fourteen. Queen Victoria and her son the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) 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".[1] However, Louis welcomed 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 arranged by Queen Victoria and Prince Edward actually impeded his progress, as his promotions were perceived as undeserved royal favours.[2]
After a naval career lasting more than forty years, in 1912 Louis was appointed First Sea Lord, the professional head of the British naval service. With the First World War looming, he took steps to ready the British fleet for combat, but his background as a German prince forced his retirement once the war began, when anti-German sentiment was running high. He changed his name and relinquished his German titles, at the behest of King George V, in 1917. The King made Louis Marquess of Milford Haven.
Louis married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. They had four children: Alice, Louise, George, and Louis. Louise later became Queen of Sweden, while the younger Louis served as First Sea Lord, like his father, from 1954 to 1959. The Marquess and Marchioness of Milford Haven were the maternal grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
- ^ Queen Victoria to First Lord of the Admiralty Lord George Hamilton, 5 September 1891, quoted in Hough, Richard (1984), Louis and Victoria: The Family History of the Mountbattens. Second edition, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p. 171, ISBN 0-297-78470-6
- ^ Hough, p. 173