Nicholas Mountbatten

DSO MC PC SCJ

Nicholas Mountbatten, Baron Romsey and Basingstoke, DSO MC, is a British naval officer and politician currently serving as the Leader of the Opposition of the House of Lords and First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff.

Born in Broadlands, Romsey, to the prominent Mountbatten/Battenberg family, Mountbatten attended the Britannia Royal Naval College, before entering the Royal Navy in 1999. He saw action in the Kosovo Civil War, the Libyan Civil War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan. Upon reaching the rank of Captain, he was appointed Second Sea Lord, and upon reaching the rank of Commodore, he was appointed First Sea Lord, a position he still holds now.

During his time out of the Navy, he ran as the Member of Parliament for Southern England, winning, and was appointed Secretary of State for Defence. After the dissolution of the Houses of Parliament, he further campaigned to become a Member of Parliament a second time, but received the offer to become a peer, pulling out of the race. Due to his services to parliament and to the armed forces, he was ennobled as **Baron Romsey and Basingstoke** , after his grandfather, Louis Mountbatten's, subsidiary title of **Baron Romsey**. After the conclusion of the election, he replaced the Baron Greenwich as a Lord of Parliament, taking his seat, and becoming Leader of the Opposition of the House of Lords.

## Early Life and Childhood

Nicholas was born on 2 January 1983 at Broadlands, Hampshire, the seat of the Earl Mountbatten of Burma. He was the only son of Francis and Patricia Mountbatten, and his paternal grandparents were Louis Mountbatten, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a maternal uncle of The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a second cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II, and Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Mountbatten's nickname, among close friends and relatives, is Nicky, a nickname suggested by Queen Victoria to Louis Mountbatten.

Mountbatten was educated at home, at Broadlands, for the first 5 years of his life, and then was sent to Lockers Park School, Hertfordshire, where many of his family and ancestors were educated, and then to Winchester College, when he became 13 years of age. After studying there for 2 years, he went on to the Britannia Royal Naval College, where he gained his commission as an officer and was commissioned as a midshipman in 1999, having gained a BSc in Engineering and a BA in War Studies.

In 1997, his grandfather Louis Mountbatten, passed away at the age of 1997. Louis Mountbatten had survived an attempt on his life 18 years earlier, and lived on to see Nicholas grow up. Louis Mountbatten had a profound effect on Nicholas, having spent a lot of time with him in retirement.

## Career

### **Early Career**

Mountbatten was posted as midshipman to the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible in 1999, and was on the ship when posted to Kosovo, to aid NATO in the Kosovo War. He served as a missile operator, and during the closing stages of the war, he paid a 10 days visit to the frontlines.

Once he returned to Britain, he attended King's College, Cambridge, for 4 terms, where he further studied War Studies and Modern History. He was a known orator, and was elected to the Standing Committee of the Cambridge Union Society.

Mountbatten was posted again on HMS Invincible on 1 January, 2000, where he met his future wife, Louise Knatchbull, who was a Chief Petty Officer. Having found much in common, they married soon after and had a son, Jacob Mountbatten. On 2 January 2001, on his 18th birthday, he was promoted to Lieutenant.

Pursuing his interests in gadgetry and weapons systems, he returned to the Britannia Royal Naval College to study electronics. He was posted to the frigate HMS Iron Duke and was the missiles and weapons system officer. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the December of 2003, he returned to the Royal Naval College as Senior Electronics Instructor. When the Iraq War broke out, he was posted to HMS Richmond and appointed the executive officer of the ship. The ship participated in Naval Gunfire Support before being relieved of her duties. She was then posted around the Caribbean for humanitarian assistance from the damage caused by the hurricanes.

### **War in Afghanistan**

Mountbatten was posted to the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious in December 2004, being the executive officer of the ship. HMS Illustrious led a fleet of 28 British ships to Afghanistan to hunt out extremist strongholds. HMS Illustrious patrolled the area for 7 months, before being relieved by HMS Ocean. Mountbatten wished to continue, and was transferred to HMS Ocean. He joined the Royal Marines landing, and joined the Royal Marines on a mission to root out strongholds. According to Mountbatten, he was armed with a 'lucky' Webley Revolver, dating back to 1950, a ceremonial sabre, and an L109A1 rifle. During this time, he was injured by a blast from the enemy, and was left with a scar down the side of his torso. He wished to continue, however, and helped to lead a raid on a stronghold. After this, he returned to HMS Ocean, where he led the fleet through patrols of the Arabian Sea. He stayed in this post in the Afghan and Arabian area for 2 years, before returning to Britain in 2007.

### Libyan Civil War and later career

After the War in Afghanistan, Mountbatten was granted temporary leave. During this time, he returned to Britannia Royal Naval College as the Head of War Studies and the Head of Electronics. He stayed in this post, whilst continuing his education in Science. He stayed in these two posts for 3 years, and during this time, he was promoted to Commander and gained an MSc in Engineering. In 2011, the Libyan Civil War broke out, and Mountbatten went back onto the active list. He commanded the destroyer HMS Daring, being involved in preventing piracy, and shore bombardment. His ship, during this time, shot down 4 enemy planes, and sank 2 enemy fast attack boats. In 2014, he returned back home. He was promoted to Captain in 2015, and was appointed Second Sea Lord. This time was relatively peaceful, and he was promoted to Commodore (temporary) in 2018, Rear Admiral in 2021, and Vice Admiral in 2022. He currently serves a First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, and Commandant of the Britannia Military College.

## Personal Life

### Marriage and Children

In early 2001, he married Louise Knatchbull, daughter of the Lord Brabourne. Like his grandfather before him, he went on a honeymoon tour of European royal courts and went on a tour of Malta. In late 2001, he and Frances had a boy, named Jacob Philip Edward Ludwig Mountbatten. According to Nicholas Mountbatten. During his childhood, he was loved by both parents, until his 11th birthday, when Knatchbull passed away due to unknown causes. According to Nicholas, their relationship was always rocky after the death of Louise, and in 2022, he renounced Jacob's surname, due to a number of incidents he refused to comment on.

### Political Career

Nicholas ran for the constituency of Southern England, and won unopposed. He sat as the MP for Southern England during the 1st Tudor-Stuart Ministry, and crossed the floor after the merging of the Liberal Democrat Party and the Royalist Party. He then sat as an Independent politician, and is still an independent to this day. After the dissolution of the First Ministry, he decided to run for the same constituency, but dropped out after being appointed Baron Romsey and Basingstoke, and took a seat in the House of Lords when the 2nd Government convened. He is the Leader of the Opposition of the House of Lords.