Prince Louis of Battenberg
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Admiral of the Fleet The Most Honourable The Marquess of Milford Haven GCB GCVO KCMG PC |
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| First Sea Lord | |
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In office 8 December 1912 – 28 October 1914 |
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| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Sir Francis Bridgeman |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Fisher |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Count Louis Alexander of Battenberg 24 May 1854 Graz, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 11 September 1921 (aged 67) Naval & Military Club, London |
| Spouse(s) | Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (m. 1884) |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1868–1914 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands |
First Sea Lord (1912–14) Atlantic Fleet (1908–10) HMS Implacable (1901–02) |
| Battles/wars | Anglo-Egyptian War |
| Awards |
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Full list |
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, GCB, GCVO, KCMG, PC (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 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.
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