Prince Louis of Battenberg 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 to members of the British Royal Family . Although born in Austria , and brought up in Italy and Germany , he enrolled in the United Kingdom ' s Royal Navy at the age of fourteen . Queen Victoria and her son King Edward VII , 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 " . 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 arranged by the Queen and Edward actually impeded his progress , as his promotions were perceived as royal favours rather than deserved . After a naval career lasting more than forty years , in 1912 he was appointed First Sea Lord , the professional head of the British naval service . With World War I 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 . He married a granddaughter of Queen Victoria , and was the father of Louis Mountbatten , 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma , who also served as First Sea Lord from 1954 to 1959 . Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh , consort of Queen Elizabeth II , is his grandson . Early life . Louis was born as Ludwig Alexander von Battenberg in Graz , Austria , 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 was denied 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 . Shortly after Louis ' s birth , his father was stationed with the Austro - Hungarian Army of occupation 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 . His mother spoke French to him but he had an English governess , and as a consequence grew up trilingual . Among the visitors entertained at Heiligenberg were Prince Alexander ' s relations , the Russian imperial family , and his cousin , Prince Louis of Hesse . Influenced by his cousin ' s wife , Princess Alice , a daughter of Queen Victoria , and by Prince Alfred , another of Queen Victoria ' s children , Battenberg joined the Royal Navy on 3 October 1868 at the age of fourteen and thus became a naturalised British subject . He was admitted by the Board of Admiralty without the production of a medical certificate , which was contrary to the usual regulation . He was enlisted as a naval cadet aboard HMS " Victory " , Nelson ' s old flagship , then used as a permanently moored training ship . In January of the following year , the Prince and Princess of Wales cruised the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the frigate HMS " Ariadne " , and the Prince of Wales requested that Louis be appointed to the vessel , before his training was complete . As part of the same tour , Louis also accompanied them on a visit to Egypt , where they visited the construction site of the Suez canal . As was traditional , the Khedive bestowed honours on the party and Louis received the Medjidie ( Fourth Class ) . In April , he received the Osmanie ( Fourth Class ) from the Ottoman Sultan . Early naval career . Louis returned to Britain in May 1869 . In June he joined HMS " Royal Alfred " , the flagship of the North America and West Indies Station , becoming a midshipman in October . From June to September 1870 he took leave in Germany , coinciding with the Franco - Prussian war , 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 while posted with the Prince of Wales on the " Ariadne " . Returning to Europe in early 1874 , he was posted to the shore establishment HMS " Excellent " , and passed the sub - lieutenant ' s examinations — gaining the best marks ever recorded at seamanship and joint best - ever at gunnery . In 1875 , again at the invitation of the Prince of Wales , he joined HMS " Serapis " , which conducted the Prince on an official tour of India , 1875 – 76 . Louis sketched some of the events of the tour and his drawings were published in the " Illustrated London News " . He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 May 1876 . 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 " . 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 touchy 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 . 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 . For the next two years Louis served on HMS " Agincourt " and on the Royal Yacht , HMY " 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 . 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 . On 24 August 1880 , Louis was posted to HMS " Inconstant " , the flagship of the Flying Squadron , which included HMS " 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . He was decorated with the Egypt War Medal by Queen Victoria personally . 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 . 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 . Marriage and family . In September 1883 , Queen Victoria appointed him to her yacht , HMY " Victoria and Albert " . On 30 April 1884 at Darmstadt in the presence of the Queen , Prince Louis married her granddaughter , Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine . His wife was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria ' s second daughter Princess 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 , and invariably spoke English to each other . As wedding presents Louis received the British Order of the Bath and the Star and Chain of the Hessian Order of Louis . Louis and Victoria had four children : 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 . Commander . On his penultimate day aboard the Queen ' s yacht , 30 August 1885 , Louis was promoted to the rank of commander . The next four years were spent in the shore establishments HMS " Excellent " and HMS " Vernon " on half - pay , on HMS " Cambridge " , very briefly at Milford Haven in August 1886 , and on board HMS " Dreadnought " in the Mediterranean . Irish nationalist 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 an 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 " , a torpedo - cruiser , which saw service in the Red Sea . Captain . On 31 December 1891 , Prince Louis was promoted to the rank of captain . 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 . " 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 . 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 " in the Mediterranean Fleet from October 1894 to May 1897 and HMS " Majestic " in the Channel Fleet from June 1897 . 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 . 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 . He became an aide - de - camp to the Queen in 1897 a post he would retain under both King Edward VII and King George V . He commissioned the newly built battleship HMS " Implacable " on 10 September 1901 , and served as its captain for a year in the Mediterranean , during which he spectacularly defeated a larger opposing force in a naval exercise . He was appointed as Director of Naval Intelligence in November 1902 , 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 " . Admiral . 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 . The following February , he was given command of the Second Cruiser Squadron , with HMS " Drake " 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 . 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 . After less than six months in post his flag was transferred to the battleship " Prince of Wales " in August 1907 . The following year , he was promoted to vice - admiral , 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 . " 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 . 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 . Eventually , both Beresford and Fisher left active service but Fisher ' s reforms were retained . Sea Lord . Fisher recommended Louis as First Sea Lord : " He is the most capable administrator in the Admiralty ' s list by a long way " , 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 " . 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 . He was promoted to full admiral on 13 July 1912 . 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 . 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 < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > 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 " . 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 . On the eve of World War I , 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 . In the view of Professor 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 . " 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 . Anti - German sentiment rose among the British public , in newspapers , and in elite gentlemen ' s club s , where resentment was inflamed by Admiral Lord Charles Beresford despite Churchill ' s remonstrances . Driven by public opinion , Churchill asked Prince Louis to resign as First Sea Lord on 27 October 1914 . 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 " . 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 " . 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 value above all else is to be admitted to the Privy Council . " 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 . " Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay thought that the " ingeniously propagated lies " originated from Germany . Prince Louis held no official post for the remainder of the war and lived in retirement at Kent House on the Isle of Wight . 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 . 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 , and he officially retired on 1 January 1919 " at [ his ] own request " , shortly before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65 . < ref name = ADM 196 / 38 > ADM 196 / 38 < / ref > Adoption of the surname Mountbatten . 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 . On 7 November , the King created him " Marquess of Milford Haven , Earl of Medina , and Viscount Alderney " in the peerage of the United Kingdom . 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 . 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 " . Final years and death . During the war , two of Lord Milford Haven ' s sisters - in - law ( Alexandra of Hesse and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna ) 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 . In 1919 , the Milford Havens had to give up their home , Kent House , for financial reasons . 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 . He sold Heiligenberg Castle , which he had inherited from his father , in 1920 . 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 , 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 " , the ship on which his son Louis was serving , for a week at the invitation of the captain Dudley Pound . 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 St . Mildred ' s Church , Whippingham , on the Isle of Wight . The marquess ' 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 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 .