George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven


George Louis Victor Henry Serge Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, born Prince George of Battenberg, styled Earl of Medina between 1917 and 1921, was a Royal Navy officer and the elder son of Louis Mountbatten, 1st [Marquess of Milford Haven], and Princess [Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine].

Biography

George was born 6 November 1892 in Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, then ruled by his maternal uncle Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse. From birth, he was a prince of the Hessian royal family, albeit of a morganatic branch. His siblings were Princess Alice, Queen Louise of Sweden and Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
George followed his father into the Royal Navy, and after passing out from the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 January 1913. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 February 1914, and served in the First World War. In 1917, his father and several of his relations relinquished their German names, styles and titles in exchange for British peerages at the behest of George V. Accordingly, Prince George dropped the style of Serene Highness and his surname was anglicised to "Mountbatten." When his father was created Marquess of Milford Haven in late 1917, George received the courtesy title of Earl of Medina, succeeding to his father's peerage after his death in September 1921.
Lord Milford Haven, as George was now known, remained in the Royal Navy after the war; he was promoted to lieutenant-commander on 15 February 1922 and to commander on 31 December 1926. In 1932, he retired from active service at his own request, with effect from 9 December of that year. On 6 November 1937, shortly before his death, he was promoted to the rank of captain on the retired list.
An accomplished mathematician, the Marquess "could work out complicated gunnery problems in his head" and "read books on calculus casually on trains". Queen Elizabeth II, his niece-in-law, considered him "one of the most intelligent and brilliant of people".

Marriage and issue

Prince George of Battenberg, as he then was known, married Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby on 15 November 1916 at the Russian Embassy, Welbeck Street, London. They lived at Lynden Manor at Holyport in Berkshire and had two children:

Death

Lord Milford Haven died in London on 8 April 1938 of bone marrow cancer, aged 45. His funeral took place at St Michael's Church, Bray, Berkshire, and he was buried in Bray Parish Cemetery.

Legacy to the British Museum

Lord Milford Haven left a collection of pornography, including artificial sex organs, to the British Museum.

Honours

National

Foreign