Prince Louis of Battenberg

File:Prince Louis of Battenberg, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven.jpg

Louis Alexander of Battenberg was born in Graz, Styria, on 24 May 1854,{{citation|last=Eilers|first=Marlene A.|title=Queen Victoria's Descendants|page=181|year=1987|location=Baltimore|publisher=Genealogical Publishing Co|isbn=978-91-630-5964-3|url=https://archive.org/details/queenvictoriasde0000eile/page/180/mode/2up?view=theater}} the eldest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine by his morganatic marriage to Countess Julia von Hauke. Because of his morganatic parentage, Louis did not inherit his father's rank in the Grand Duchy of Hesse; and, from birth, his style of Illustrious Highness and title of Count of Battenberg instead derived from the rank given to his mother at the time of her marriage. On 26 December 1858, he automatically became His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg when his mother 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.{{citation|last=Ruvigny|first=Marquis of|title=The Titled Nobility of Europe|page=307|year=1914|location=London|publisher=Harrison and Sons}}

Shortly after Louis's birth, his father was stationed with the Austro-Hungarian Army in Northern Italy during the Second Italian War of Independence. Louis's early years were spent either in the north of Italy or at Prince Alexander's two houses in Hesse, the castle of Heiligenberg in Jugenheim, and the Alexander Palace in Darmstadt. Because his mother spoke French to him and he had an English governess, he grew up trilingual.{{citation|last=Kerr|first=Mark|title=Prince Louis of Battenberg|pages=4–5|year=1934|location=London|publisher=Longmans, Green and Co|author-link=Mark Kerr (Royal Navy officer, born 1864)}}

Among the visitors entertained at Heiligenberg were Battenberg's relations, the Russian imperial family and his cousin, Prince Louis of Hesse.Hough, p. 20 Influenced by his cousin's wife, Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria, and by Prince Alfred, another of Queen Victoria's children, Battenberg became a naturalised British subject and joined the Royal Navy on 3 October 1868 at age fourteen.{{citation|title=Admiralty – Prince Louis of Battenberg – HMS Dreadnought HC Deb 2 August 1887 vol 318 cc924-6|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1887/aug/02/admiralty-prince-louis-of-battenberg-hms|work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)|date=2 August 1887|access-date=6 February 2012}}{{citation|title=Admiralty – Prince Louis of Battenberg – HMS Dreadnought HC Deb 4 August 1887 vol 318 c1170|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1887/aug/04/admiralty-appointment-of-prince-louis-of#S3V0318P0_18870804_HOC_192|work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)|date=4 August 1887|access-date=6 February 2012}} He was admitted by the Board of Admiralty without the production of a medical certificate, which was contrary to the usual regulation.{{citation|title=Admiralty – the appointment of Prince Louis of Battenberg, HC Deb 5 August 1887 vol 318 cc1372-4|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1887/aug/05/admiralty-the-appointment-of-prince#S3V0318P0_18870805_HOC_134|work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)|date=5 August 1887|access-date=6 February 2012}} He had been found medically unfit "on account of small, flat chest, slight lateral curvature of the spine and defective vision", but was allowed to join so as not to disappoint the Queen.{{citation|last1=Harley|first1=Simon|title='It's a Case of All or None': 'Jacky' Fisher's Advice to Winston Churchill, 1911|date=May 2016|journal=The Mariner's Mirror|volume=102|issue=2|page=178|doi=10.1080/00253359.2016.1167397|s2cid=159895698}} He was entered as a naval cadet aboard {{HMS|Victory}}, Nelson's old flagship, then used as a permanently moored receiving ship.Kerr, pp. 7–8

In January of the following year, the Prince and Princess of Wales cruised the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the frigate {{HMS|Ariadne|1859|6}}; and the Prince of Wales requested that Louis be appointed to the vessel,Kerr, pp. 9–10 before his training was complete.Hough, p. 61 As part of the same tour, Louis accompanied them on a visit to Egypt, where they visited the construction site of the Suez Canal. As was traditional, the Khedive, Isma'il Pasha, bestowed honours on the party, with Louis receiving the Medjidie (4th Class);Kerr, pp. 14–16 in April, he received the Osmanie (4th Class) from the Ottoman Sultan.Kerr, p. 18

File:LouisofBattenberg1869.jpg

Louis returned to Britain in May 1869. In June he joined {{HMS|Royal Alfred|1864|6}}, the flagship of the North America and West Indies Station, becoming a midshipman in October.Kerr, pp. 19–23 From June to September 1870 he took leave in Germany, coinciding with the Franco-Prussian war,Kerr, pp. 25–27 but he spent the next three-and-a-half years in the Americas (Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia), where his tour of duty served to make up for the training he had missed while posted with the Prince of Wales on the Ariadne.Hough, pp. 67, 69 and 73 Returning to Europe in early 1874, he was placed on the books of {{HMS|Excellent|shore establishment|6}} at Portsmouth,Kerr, p. 34 and p. xiii and passed the sub-lieutenant's examinations—gaining the best marks ever recorded at seamanship and joint best-ever at gunnery.Hough, p. 76

In 1875, again at the invitation of the Prince of Wales, he joined {{HMS|Serapis|1866|6}}, which conducted the Prince on an official tour of India, 1875–76.Kerr, p. 36 Louis sketched some of the events of the tour and his drawings were published in the Illustrated London News.Hough, p. 80 He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 May 1876.{{London Gazette|issue=24326|date=16 May 1876|page=2982}} 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 instead accepted an offer to join Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, as a lieutenant on board {{HMS|Sultan|1870|6}}.Kerr, p. 51 In addition to acting as the Duke's equerry, Louis continued his naval duties. He did not enjoy the position, as the Duke was rather touchyKerr, p. 63 and Hough, p. 87 and Louis's cabin was infested with rats, one of which he caught with his bare hands as it ran across his chest as he lay in bed.Kerr, p. 64 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 criticised for visiting his brother, Prince Alexander, who was serving with the Russian forces, but an investigation cleared both Louis and Alexander, as well as Prince Alfred, of any wrongdoing.Kerr, p. 69 For the next two years Louis served on {{HMS|Agincourt|1865|6}} and on the Royal Yacht, {{ship|HMY|Osborne|1870|6}}, 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.Kerr, p. 70 On 17 February 1880 he, his father, and Tsar Alexander II witnessed an explosion at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, when Stephen Chalturin unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the Tsar with dynamite beneath the great dining room.Hough, pp. 95–96

File:HMS Agincourt.jpg

On 24 August 1880, Louis was posted to {{HMS|Inconstant|1868|6}}, the flagship of the Flying Squadron, which included {{HMS|Bacchante|1876|6}} 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.Kerr, pp. 71–99 Seven months after Louis left Britain on the voyage, actress Lillie Langtry allegedly bore him an illegitimate daughter, Jeanne Marie. Langtry was also a one-time mistress of the Prince of Wales. Jeanne Marie's parentage was never completely verified, but Louis made a financial settlement nonetheless.{{cite ODNB|title=Mountbatten, Louis Alexander, first marquess of Milford Haven [formerly Prince Louis of Battenberg] (1854–1921) |last=Van der Kiste |first=John |authorlink=John Van der Kiste |id=35134|mode=cs2}}{{citation|last=Vickers|first=Hugo|title=Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece|pages=11–12|year=2000|location=London|publisher=Hamish Hamilton|isbn=0-241-13686-5}}Hough, pp. 97–98

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 Anglo-Egyptian War.Kerr, p. 100 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.Kerr, p. 101 He was decorated with the Egypt War Medal by Queen Victoria personally.Hough, p. 105

In November 1882, he left the Inconstant, spent Christmas in Darmstadt, and in March the following year visited his younger brother, Prince Alexander, in Bulgaria.Kerr, p. 103 Alexander had been made Sovereign Prince of Bulgaria in 1879 with the approval of Europe's Great Powers. 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 so as 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 on which they had travelled ran aground.Kerr, p. 106

File:LouisofBattenberg1884.jpg in London, 1884]]

In September 1883, Queen Victoria appointed him to her yacht, {{ship|HMY|Victoria and Albert|1855}}. On 30 April 1884 at Darmstadt in the presence of the Queen, Prince Louis married her granddaughter, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine.Kerr, p. 107 His wife was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria's second daughter Princess Alice and 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,Vickers, p. 7 and invariably spoke English to each other.Kerr, p. 109 and Vickers, p. 20 As wedding presents Louis received the British Order of the Bath and the Star and Chain of the Hessian Order of Louis.Hough, p. 119

Louis and Victoria had four children:

In 1885, 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 Beatrice could continue to serve as her mother's companion and personal secretary.{{cite ODNB|last=Purdue|first=A. W.|title=Beatrice, Princess (1857–1944)|id=30658|mode=cs2}}

File:HMSDreadnought1875.jpeg

On his penultimate day aboard the Queen's yacht, 30 August 1885, Louis was promoted to the rank of commander.Kerr, p. xii{{London Gazette|issue=25507|date=1 September 1885|page=4131}} The next four years were spent in the shore establishments {{HMS|Excellent|shore establishment|6}} and {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}} on half-pay, on HMS Cambridge, very briefly at Milford Haven in August 1886, and on board {{HMS|Dreadnought|1875|6}} in the Mediterranean.Kerr, p. xiii and p. 110 Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) Willie Redmond and Liberal MP Charles Conybeare both questioned Battenberg's appointment to Dreadnought in the British House of Commons. Conybeare asked, "What special qualifications have entitled a foreigner to be promoted over the heads of some 30 British officers?" First Lord of the Admiralty Lord George Hamilton said, "Captain Stephenson, who commands the Dreadnought, applied for Prince Louis of Battenberg to fill the appointment. I may add that another officer who is about to command a large iron-clad in the Mediterranean has made a similar application." He added that 22 commanders junior to Battenberg held similar appointments, and that Battenberg was a naturalised British subject. Another Liberal MP, Edward Pickersgill, backed up by Conybeare and Irish nationalist Charles Tanner, questioned the propriety of Battenberg's appointment to the Navy in 1868, given Battenberg's failure to get the required medical certificate, and suggested that he only got in the Navy because of royal favour.

On 3 October 1889, Battenberg was appointed to his first independent command, {{HMS|Scout|1885|6}}, a torpedo-cruiser, which saw service in the Red Sea.Kerr, pp. 111–114

On 31 December 1891, Prince Louis was promoted to the rank of captain.Kerr, p. 166{{London Gazette|issue=26239|date=1 January 1892|page=3}} At the beginning of the following year, he was appointed naval advisor to the inspector-general of fortifications. His role was to act as a liaison between the navy and the army in order to ensure a co-ordinated defence. 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."Kerr, p. 118

In 1892, Battenberg invented the Battenberg Course Indicator, a relative velocity analogue computer device used by seamen to determine course and speed to steer for changes of position between ships.{{citation|title=The Battenberg Course Indicator|url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/ou5274.htm|work=Royal Navy document OU5274 "Remarks on Handling Ships"|year=1934|publisher=Great War Primary Document Archive|access-date=11 June 2009}}{{citation|last=Lee|first=Annabel|title=Louis of Battenberg: A Talk with the Sailor-Prince|date=12 November 1905|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/11/12/101760975.pdf|journal=The New York Times|access-date=11 June 2009}}

By February 1894 his 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. Louis captained {{HMS|Cambrian|1893|6}} in the Mediterranean Fleet from October 1894 to May 1897 and {{HMS|Majestic|1895|6}} in the Channel Fleet from June 1897.Kerr, pp. 121–122 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 in June 1899.Kerr, p. xiv He used his relationships with the royal houses of Europe to gather intelligence on the naval fleets of other nations, which he passed on to the Admiralty in full and detailed reports.Hough, pp. 179, 185–186 He became an aide-de-camp to the Queen in 1897,{{London Gazette|issue=26809|date=1 January 1897|page=3}} a post he would retain under both King {{nowrap|Edward VII}} and George V.Kerr, p. 138

File:LouisofBattenberg1905.jpg of London, 1905]]

He commissioned the newly built battleship {{HMS|Implacable|1899|6}} on 10 September 1901,The Times (London) 11 September 1901, no. 36557, p. 8 and served as its captain for a year in the Mediterranean, during which he spectacularly defeated a larger opposing force in a naval exercise.Hough, pp. 223–225 When the Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, Rear-Admiral Burges Watson, died suddenly in late September 1902, Louis was temporarily appointed 2nd class Commodore with added responsibilities.The Times (London) 29 September 1902, no. 36885, p. 8 In November of the same year he was appointed as Director of Naval Intelligence,Kerr, pp. 142–157"Important Naval Appointments", The Times (London) 23 October 1902, no. 36906, p. 3 an apt posting for a man whom First Lord of the Admiralty the Earl of Selborne described as "the cleverest sailor I have met yet".{{citation|last=Boyce|first=D. George|title=The Crisis of British Power: The Imperial and Naval Papers of the Second Earl of Selborne, 1895–1910|page=113|year=1990|location=London|publisher=The Historians' Press}} The outgoing Director, Rear-Admiral Reginald Custance, had been Battenberg’s superior at the Naval Intelligence Department a few years earlier and tried to prevent Battenberg’s promotion to succeed him.Lambert 2012, pp. 283-5

He was promoted to rear admiral on 1 July 1904,{{London Gazette|issue=27692|date=5 July 1904|page=4259}} in which year his family connections to the royal courts of Europe helped resolve the Dogger Bank incident peacefully. The following February, he was given command of the Second Cruiser Squadron, with {{HMS|Drake|1901|6}} as his flagship. 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.Kerr, pp. 185–206 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|1899|6}} as his flagship.Kerr, pp. 214–221

After less than six months in post his flag was transferred to the battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|1902|2}} in August 1907. The following year, he was promoted to vice-admiral,{{London Gazette|issue=28156|date=7 July 1908|page=4940}} and appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. Historian Andrew Lambert described Battenberg as a sea-going admiral as "more cerebral than the average, although somewhat lazy. The [fleet] exercises had a greater sense of realism, reflecting the latest thinking on weapons and strategy."{{citation|last=Lambert|first=Andrew|title=Admirals|page=344|year=2008|publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=978-0-571-23156-0}} In 1909, he published a translation of Commander Vladimir Semenoff's Rasplata (The Reckoning), a memoir of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, and witnessed the first crossing of the English Channel by air by Louis Blériot.Kerr, pp. 230–231 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 Sir John 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 his methods, and as a result Fisher's opponents attempted to prevent Louis's promotions.Hough, pp. 237–239

Fisher recommended Louis as First Sea Lord in 1911: "He is the most capable administrator in the Admirals List by a long way",Fisher to J. A. Spender, 25 October 1911, quoted in Marder, vol. II, p. 398; see also Hough, p. 245 but elements of the British press were against his appointment on the grounds that he was a German. Horatio Bottomley said it was "a crime against our Empire to trust our secrets of National Defence to any alien-born official".Horatio Bottomley in John Bull, 2 November 1911, quoted in Hough, p. 246 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 ratings, and created an Admiralty War Staff that would prepare the navy's plans in case of war.Hough, pp. 244–256 He was promoted to full admiral on 13 July 1912.{{London Gazette|issue=28627|date=16 July 1912|page=5182}}

File:Laszlo - Prince Louis of Battenberg.jpg, 1910]]

However, almost a year to the day later, on 8 December 1912, Battenberg assumed the post of First Sea Lord in succession to Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman.Churchill, pp. 611–613; Kerr, p. 238 Military historian Hew Strachan contends that Battenberg "lacked Fisher's dogmatism. Not the least of his attractions to Churchill [the First Lord] was his malleability. The combination of frequent change and weak appointees [Wilson, Bridgeman and Battenberg] ensured that the professional leadership of the Royal Navy lost its direction in the four years preceding the war. Power now lay with the service's civilian head ... Winston Churchill."{{citation|last=Strachan|first=Hew|title=The First World War, Volume I: To Arms|page=380|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-820877-4}} Late in 1913 Battenberg (according to draft notes in Churchill's papers) gave what historian Nicholas Lambert describes as "uncharacteristically fierce resistance" to Churchill's suggestion of appointing his former superior Reginald Custance to the post of Chief of Naval War Staff (Doveton Sturdee was appointed instead). Jack Sandars, Arthur Balfour’s former political secretary, at one point recorded that his many sources at the Admiralty complained of Battenberg’s subservience to Churchill and that his nickname was "Quite Concur" after the words which he often wrote on Churchill’s memos.

As First Sea Lord, Battenberg was responsible to the First Lord 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.Hough, p. 272

On the eve of the World War, Churchill and Battenberg made the crucial decision to cancel the scheduled dispersal of the British fleet following practice manoeuvres, to preserve the Royal Navy's battle readiness.Kerr, p. 243 In the view of Andrew Lambert, "While Churchill planned to recall Fisher if war broke out, he missed the chance to prevent war that might have been provided by drafting him earlier. No Cabinet advised by Fisher would have made such a blundering, incompetent, disastrous response to the July [1914] Crisis. The British trumpet gave a very uncertain note in July [1914], allowing the Germans to delude themselves that Britain might be neutral ... the contrast in habits between the energy and enthusiasm of the young First Lord and the lackadaisical habits of the First Sea Lord Prince Louis of Battenberg made Fisher's recall all but inevitable."Lambert, p. 317

Upon the outbreak of war, gout began to cause Battenberg considerable pain, and the naval staff he had set up did not function as well as it ought to have done.Goldrick, pp. 17–18 On 6 August 1914 Battenberg and the French Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy Antoine Schwerer signed a convention in London on the division of responsibilities between the two navies.Koburger, pp. 31–32 The convention confirmed the terms of the Entente Cordiale, and placed France in command of all naval operations in the Mediterranean. Malta and Gibraltar would both be treated as French naval bases. In the event that Austria entered the war France would act against its naval forces, and would at minimum prevent them passing the Strait of Otranto.

Anti-German sentiment rose among the British public, in newspapers, and in elite gentlemen's clubs, where resentment was inflamed by Admiral Lord Charles Beresford despite Churchill's remonstrances.Hough, pp. 302–303 Driven by public opinion, Churchill asked Prince Louis to resign as First Sea Lord on 27 October 1914.Hough, p. 307 When acceptance of Battenberg's resignation was delayed by the King's opposition to the appointment of Fisher in his place, Louis wrote to Churchill, "I beg of you to release me. I am on the verge of breaking down & I cannot use my brain for anything."Hattendorf, p. 87 On 13 November he wrote to Churchill's Naval Secretary, Rear-Admiral Horace Hood, "It was an awful wrench, but I had no choice from the moment it was made clear to me that the Government did not feel themselves strong enough to support me by some public pronouncement".Quoted in Goldrick, p. 155 Churchill later told George Riddell (Diary 29 April 1915) that Battenberg had been "very lethargic". He was also critical of Doveton Sturdee "not a good Chief of Staff. He is a good fighting admiral but not a clever man."Bell 2017, p.162

His resignation was announced amid an outpouring of appreciation from politicians and naval comrades. Battenberg had written to Churchill on 28 October, "What I shd (sic) value above all else is to be admitted to the Privy Council".Gilbert, p. 149 The King later swore Louis in as a Privy Councillor in a public show of support. 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".The Times (London), 4 November 1914 Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay thought that the "ingeniously propagated lies" originated from Germany.The Times (London), 1 November 1914

Prince Louis held no official post for the remainder of the war and lived in retirement at Kent House on the Isle of Wight.Kerr, p. 259 He occupied his time in writing a comprehensive encyclopaedia on naval medals published in three large volumes, which became the standard reference work on the subject.Kerr, p. 265 His naval career had been characterised by industry, invention and intellect; he introduced mechanical calculators to compute navigations and a cone signalling apparatus. Although assured that he would be returned to command post-war, on 9 December 1918 the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss, wrote to Prince Louis informing him that he would not be employed again and suggested that he might retire in order to facilitate the promotion of younger officers. Prince Louis agreed,Hough, p. 330 and he officially retired on 1 January 1919 "at [his] own request", shortly before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.ADM 196/38

File:A Good Riddance - George V of the United Kingdom cartoon in Punch, 1917.png cartoon depicting King George V sweeping away the German titles held by members of his family, 1917]]

During the war, 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, along with the style of Serene Highness, on 14 July 1917. At the same time, Louis anglicised his family name, changing it from "Battenberg" to "Mountbatten", having considered but rejected "Battenhill" as an alternative.Hough, p. 317 On 7 November, the King created him Marquess of Milford Haven, Earl of Medina, and Viscount Alderney in the peerage of the United Kingdom.{{London Gazette|issue=30374|date=9 November 1917|page=11594}} He was offered a dukedom by George V, but declined as he could not afford the lavish lifestyle expected of a duke.{{citation|last=Hicks|first=Lady Pamela|title=Daughter of Empire: My Life as a Mountbatten|page=4|year=2012|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-3381-4}}

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.{{citation|title=The Royal Family name|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/TheRoyalFamilyname/Overview.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215182305/http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/TheRoyalFamilyname/Overview.aspx|publisher=Official web site of the British monarchy|access-date=11 June 2009|archive-date=15 February 2009}}

While the transition in names and titles was being effected, Louis spent some time at the home of his eldest son, George. After anglicising his surname to Mountbatten and becoming Marquess of Milford Haven, Louis wrote in his son's guestbook, "Arrived Prince Hyde, Departed Lord Jekyll".Kerr, p. 289

During the war, two of Lord Milford Haven's sisters-in-law (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna) were killed by the Bolsheviks in Russia. Eventually, in January 1921, after a long and convoluted journey, the body of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna was interred in Jerusalem in the presence of Milford Haven and his wife.Kerr, p. 261

In 1919, the Milford Havens had to give up their home, Kent House, for financial reasons.Kerr, p. 290 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.Kerr, p. 293 He sold Heiligenberg Castle, which he had inherited from his father, in 1920.Vickers, p. 155

Milford Haven was appointed Military Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), to add to the Civil one he already held, in recognition of his service to the Royal Navy in the 1921 New Year Honours,{{London Gazette|issue=32178|date=1 January 1921|page=4|supp=y}} and was specially promoted by Order in Council to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet on the Retired List, dated 19 August. A few days later he joined {{HMS|Repulse|1916|6}}, the ship on which his son Louis was serving, for a week at the invitation of the captain Dudley Pound.Ziegler, p. 60 It was his last voyage; he died at 42 Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, London in the annexe of the Naval and Military Club on 11 September 1921 of heart failure following influenza. After a funeral service at Westminster Abbey, his remains were buried at St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham, on the Isle of Wight.

Milford Haven's estate comprised £6,535 in England and 734,613 marks in Darmstadt.{{cite book

| last = Vickers

| first = Hugo

| title = Alice: Princess Andrew of Greece

| publisher = Hamish Hamilton

| year = 2000

| isbn = 9780241136867

| page = 155

}} His 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 in the Royal Navy, became First Sea Lord like his father, was the last Viceroy of India, and was created Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1947.{{citation|title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage|pages=vol. III p. 2694|year=2003|editor-last=Mosley|editor-first=Charles|no-pp=true|edition=107|location=Wilmington, Delaware|publisher=Burke's Peerage and Gentry|isbn=0-9711966-2-1}}

• 24 May 1854 – 26 December 1858: His Illustrious Highness Count Louis of Battenberg
• 26 December 1858 – 14 July 1917: His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg
• 14 July – 7 November 1917: The Right Honourable Sir Louis Mountbatten
• 7 November 1917 – 11 September 1921: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Milford Haven

;Orders and decorations

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• {{flagu|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}:
• Egypt War Medal, 1882{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112032663616&view=1up&seq=30&skin=2021 2]|year=1912–1913|chapter=Großherzogliche Familie|location=Darmstadt|publisher=Im Verlag der Invalidenanstalt|language=German|via=hathitrust.org}}
• Knight Commander of the Bath, 29 April 1884 (civil){{citation|last=Shaw|first=William Arthur|title=The Knights of England|volume=1|pages=[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n303/mode/2up 212], [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n379/mode/2up 288], [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n509/mode/2up 418]|year=1906|location=London|publisher=Sherratt and Hughes|author-link=William Arthur Shaw}}/25 June 1909 (military);{{London Gazette|issue=28263|date=22 June 1909|page=4853|supp=y}} Additional Knight Grand Cross with Collar, 21 June 1887 (civil)/1 January 1921 (military)
• Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal, 1887
• Knight of Justice of St. John{{London Gazette|issue=26725|date=27 March 1896|page=1960}}
• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 2 February 1901
• King Edward VII Coronation Medal, 1902
• Knight Commander of St Michael and St George, 30 June 1905{{London Gazette|issue=27811|date=30 June 1905|page=4549|supp=y}}
• {{flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtum Hessen ohne Wappen.svg}} Hesse and by Rhine:
• Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 25 September 1870;{{citation|title=Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089248618&view=1up&seq=10 2], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089248618&view=1up&seq=12 4], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089248618&view=1up&seq=29 21]|year=1914|location=Darmstadt|publisher=Staatsverlag|language=German|via=hathitrust.org}} with Star and Collar, 29 April 1884
• Grand Cross of the Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous, with Swords, 25 September 1870
• Knight of the Golden Lion, with Collar, 30 April 1884
• Wedding Medal of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig and Grand Duchess Victoria Melita, 1894
• {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} {{flagicon|Kingdom of Hungary|1877}} Austria-Hungary:
• Grand Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph, 1877{{citation|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1914|pages=[https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1914&page=409&size=45 63], [https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1914&size=45&page=524 178]|chapter=Ritter-Orden|chapter-url=https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1914&page=390&size=45|location=Vienna|publisher=Druck und Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei|language=German|via=alex.onb.ac.at}}
• Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1908
• {{flagu|Principality of Bulgaria}}:
• Grand Cross of St. Alexander
• Commemorative Medal for the Liberation of Bulgaria
• {{flagicon image|Flag of Muhammad Ali.svg}} Egypt:
• Order of the Medjidie, 4th Class, January 1869
• Khedive's Star, 1882
• {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
• {{flagu|French Third Republic}}: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, 20 July 1913{{citation|author=M. & B. Wattel|title=Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers|date=2009|publisher=Archives & Culture|isbn=978-2-35077-135-9|location=Paris|page=461|language=French|ref=M. et B. Wattel}}
• {{flagicon|Greece|royal}} Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
• {{flagu|Empire of Japan}}: Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun, with Paulownia Flowers, 2 November 1917{{London Gazette|issue=30363|date=30 October 1917|page=11322|supp=y}}
• {{flagu|Principality of Montenegro}}: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I
• {{flagu|Ottoman Empire}}: Order of Osmanieh, 4th Class, April 1869; 1st Class, 1882
• {{flagu|Kingdom of Portugal}}:
• Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ
• Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword, with Collar
• {{flagu|Kingdom of Prussia}}: Grand Cross of the Red Eagle
• {{flagu|Russian Empire|1858}}:
• Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
• Knight of St. Andrew, 1909
• Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
• Knight of the White Eagle
• Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class
• {{flagu|Restoration (Spain)}}:
• Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, 26 November 1906{{citation|title=Guía Oficial de España|date=1914|publisher=Sucesores de Rivadeneyra|location=Madrid|page=208|language=Spanish|chapter=Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III|chapter-url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0001011466&search=&lang=es|via=bne.es}}
• Grand Cross of Naval Merit, with White Decoration, 1907{{citation|title=Guía Oficial de España|date=1914|publisher=Sucesores de Rivadeneyra|location=Madrid|page=547|language=Spanish|chapter=Caballeros Grandes Cruces de la Orden del Mérito Naval|chapter-url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0001011466&search=&lang=es|via=bne.es}}
• {{flagu|Württemberg}}: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1884{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Pc5CAAAAYAAJ/page/n63 28]|year=1896|chapter=Königliche Orden|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Druck von W. Kohlhammer|language=German}}}}

;Appointments

• Honorary naval aide-de-camp to the Sovereign, 1 January 1897
• Privy Councillor, 5 November 1914{{London Gazette|issue=28965|date=6 November 1914|page=9011}}{{citation|last=Cokayne|first=G.E.|title=The Complete Peerage|pages=vol. XIII p. 260|year=1940|no-pp=true|others=revised, enlarged and edited by Doubleday, H.A. and Howard de Walden, Lord|location=London|publisher=St Catherine Press|author-link=George Edward Cokayne}}

{{Infobox COA wide

| image = Coat of Arms of Prince Louis, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven.svg

| coronet = A Coronet of a Marquess

| crest = 1st: Out of a Coronet Or two Horns barry of ten Argent and Gules issuing from each three Linden Leaves Vert and from the outer side of each horn four Branches barwise having three like Leaves pendent therefrom of the last (Hesse); 2nd: Out of a Coronet Or a Plume of four Ostrich Feathers alternately Argent and Sable (Battenberg)

| escutcheon = Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Azure a Lion rampant double-queued barry of ten Argent and Gules armed and langued of the last crowned Or within a Bordure compony of the second and third (Hesse); 2nd and 3rd, Argent two Pallets Sable (Battenberg)

| supporters = On either side a Lion double-queued and crowned all Or

| motto = In Honour Bound

| orders = The shield is surrounded by the heraldic circlet of the Order of the Bath, which bears the order's motto, and suspended below the shield is the insignia of the order

}}

{{Ahnentafel|collapsed=yes|align=center|ref={{Citation|last=Paget|first=Gerald|title=The Lineage & Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales|year=1977|location=Edinburgh and London|publisher=Charles Skilton}}

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|1= 1. Prince Louis of Battenberg

|2= 2. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine

|3= 3. Julia, Princess of Battenberg

|4= 4. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

|5= 5. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden

|6= 6. Count Hans Moritz Hauke

|7= 7. Sophie Lafontaine

|8= 8. Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

|9= 9. Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt

|10= 10. Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden

|11= 11. Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

|12= 12. Friedrich Karl Emanuel Hauke

|13= 13. Maria Salomé Schweppenhäuser

|14= 14. Franz Leopold Lafontaine

|15= 15. Maria Theresa Kornély

}}

{{Reflist|21em}}

{{Refbegin}}

• [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7916320&queryType=1&resultcount=2 ADM 196/38 Battenberg Service Record] at The National Archives (fee payable for download).
• {{Citation|last=Bell|first=Christopher|title=Churchill and the Dardanelles|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2017|isbn=978-0-19870-254-2}}
• {{Citation|title=Winston S. Churchill|last=Churchill|first=Randolph S.|author-link=Randolph Churchill|volume=II|year=1967|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company|location=Boston}}
• {{Citation |title=Winston S. Churchill: The Challenge of War 1914–1916 |volume=III |last=Gilbert |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Gilbert |year=1971 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=New York |isbn=0-395-13153-7}}
• {{Citation|title=The King's Ships Were At Sea: The War in the North Sea August 1914 – February 1916|last=Goldrick|first=James|author-link=James Goldrick|year=1984|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=0-87021-334-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/kingsshipswereat0000gold}}
• {{Citation|last1=Harley|first1=Simon|s2cid=159895698|title='It's a Case of All or None': 'Jacky' Fisher's Advice to Winston Churchill, 1911|journal=The Mariner's Mirror|date=May 2016|volume=102|issue=2|pages=174–190|doi=10.1080/00253359.2016.1167397}}
• {{Citation|editor1-last=Marder |editor1-first=Arthur J. |title=Fear God and Dread Nought: The Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone |volume=II |date=1956 |publisher=Jonathan Cape |location=London}}
• {{Citation |title=The First Sea Lords: From Fisher to Mountbatten |last=Hattendorf |first=John B.|author-link=John Hattendorf|editor=Murfett, Malcolm H. |year=1995 |publisher=Praeger Publishers |location=Westport, CT |isbn=0-275-94231-7}}
• {{Citation|first=Richard|last=Hough|author-link=Richard Hough|title=Louis and Victoria: The Family History of the Mountbattens. Second edition|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|location=London|year=1984|isbn=0-297-78470-6}}
• {{Citation |last1=Hurd |first1=Archibald |title=Mountbatten, Louis Alexander, first marquess of Milford Haven [formerly Prince Louis of Battenberg] (1854–1921)|last2=Van der Kiste|first2=John|author2-link=John Van der Kiste|work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-19-861411-1|editor=Matthew, H. C. G.|editor-link=Colin Matthew|editor2=Harrison, Brian|editor2-link=Brian Harrison (historian)}}
• {{Citation|last=Kerr|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Kerr (Royal Navy officer, born 1864)|title=Prince Louis of Battenberg: Admiral of the Fleet|publisher=Longmans, Green and Co|location=London|year=1934}}
• {{citation|last=Koburger|first=Charles W.|title=The Central Powers in the Adriatic, 1914–1918: War in a Narrow Sea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FYqLUs2rzIAC&pg=PA31|year=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97071-0}}
• {{citation|last=Lambert|first=Nicholas|title=Planning Armageddon: British Economic Warfare and the First World War|publisher= Harvard University Press; 1st Edition|location=Cambridge Massachusetts|year=2012|isbn=978-0-67406-149-1}}
• {{Citation|first=Hugo|last=Vickers|title=Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece|publisher=Hamish Hamilton|location=London|year=2000|isbn=0-241-13686-5}}
• {{Citation|last=Ziegler|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Ziegler|title=Mountbatten|publisher=Collins|location=London|year=1985|isbn=0-00-216543-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mountbattenoffic00phil}}

{{Refend}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Prince Louis of Battenberg, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven}}
• {{Hansard-contribs | mr-louis-mountbatten | the Marquess of Milford Haven}}
• {{NPG name|name=Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-mil}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-new|reason=Ship commissioned}}

{{s-ttl|title=Captain of {{HMS|Implacable|1899|6}}|years=1901–1902}}

{{s-aft|after=Reginald Prothero}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-bef|before=Reginald Custance}}

{{s-ttl|title=Director of Naval Intelligence|years=1902–1905}}

{{s-aft|after=Charles Ottley}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-new|reason=Squadron formed}}

{{s-ttl|title=Rear-Admiral Commanding Second Cruiser Squadron|years=1905–1907}}

{{s-aft|after=Charles Henry Adair}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-bef|before=Francis Bridgeman}}

{{s-ttl|title=Second-in-Command Mediterranean Fleet|years=1907–1908}}

{{s-aft|after=George Callaghan}}

{{s-break}}

{{s-bef|before=Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe}}

{{s-ttl|title=Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet|years=1908–1910}}

{{s-aft|rows=2|after=Sir John Jellicoe}}

{{s-bef|before=Sir George Egerton}}

{{s-ttl|title=Second Sea Lord|years=1911–1912}}

{{S-break}}

{{Succession box|title=First Sea Lord|before=Sir Francis Bridgeman|after=The Lord Fisher|years=1912–1914}}

{{S-reg|uk}}

{{s-new|creation }}

{{s-ttl | title=Marquess of Milford Haven | years=1917–1921}}

{{s-aft | after=George Mountbatten}}

{{s-end}}

{{Battenberg family}}

{{Directors of Naval Intelligence}}

{{First Sea Lord}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis of Battenberg}}

Category:1854 births

Category:1921 deaths

Category:Military personnel from Graz

Category:Immigrants to the United Kingdom

Category:Burials at St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham

Category:Directors of Naval Intelligence

Louis of Battenberg, Prince

Louis of Battenberg, Prince

Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Category:Lords of the Admiralty

Category:Princes in the German Empire

Category:Counts in Germany

Category:Royal Navy admirals of the fleet

Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War

Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom

Milford Haven, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of

Category:Peers created by George V