Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke
GCStJ | |
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Birth name | Prince Alexander Albert of Battenberg |
Born | Windsor Castle, Berkshire, United Kingdom | 23 November 1886
Died | 23 February 1960 Kensington Palace, London, United Kingdom | (aged 73)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1902–08; 1909–19; 1941–45 |
Rank | Lieutenant (RN) Captain (British Army) Flight Lieutenant (RAF) |
Unit | Grenadier Guards Royal Air Force |
Battles/wars | Second Boer War World War I World War II |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | Lady Iris Kemp |
Alexander Albert Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke,
Early life
Prince Alexander was born in 1886 at
Prince Henry of Battenberg was the product of a
He was baptised in the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle on 18 December 1886. His godparents were Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, (his maternal grandmother), Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (his paternal grandfather), the Prince of Wales (his maternal uncle), Prince Alexander of Battenberg (his paternal uncle), and Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (his maternal first cousin and paternal second cousin).[4]
Prince Alexander was the brother-in-law to
Military service and honours
Prince Alexander passed a qualifying examination to become service cadet in the Royal Navy in March 1902,[5] and subsequently joined the cadet training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth on 8 May 1902.[6] He served in the Royal Navy from 1902 to 1908[2] and in 1910, became one of the earliest members of The Castaways' Club, an exclusive dining club for Naval officers who resigned while still junior but who wished to keep in touch with their former service. Several of his Mountbatten cousins were also subsequently members, including his first cousins once removed the Marquess of Milford Haven and Duke of Edinburgh. On 11 July 1908, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Hessian Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous.[7]
In 1909, he joined the British Army, being appointed Second Lieutenant (on probation) in the Grenadier Guards on 4 August 1909.[8] He was confirmed in the rank on 22 November 1911,[9] and was promoted to Lieutenant on 15 August 1913.[10] He was seconded to the staff to act as an extra aide-de-camp on 10 April 1915[11][12] and promoted to captain the same year.
On 1 June 1917, he was authorised to wear the insignia of the Russian
During World War II, despite being in his mid-fifties, the Marquess joined the Royal Air Force and was commissioned an acting pilot officer on 6 June 1941.[16] On 6 August, he was regraded as a pilot officer (on probation).[17] He was confirmed in his rank on 6 June 1942 and was promoted to flying officer (war-substantive) on 6 August 1942.[18] During the war, he was a staff officer attached to air chief marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.[19] He relinquished his commission on 21 May 1945, retaining the rank of flight lieutenant.[20]
Marquess of Carisbrooke
Anti-German feeling during
The Battenberg family relinquished their titles of Prince and Princess of Battenberg and the styles of Highness and Serene Highness. Under
In the 1930s, author E. F. Benson dedicated two of his famous novels, Mapp and Lucia and Lucia's Progress, to the Marquess of Carisbrooke.
Marriage
On 19 July 1917, he married
Lord and Lady Carisbrooke had one child, a daughter:
- Lady Iris Mountbatten (13 January 1920 – 1 September 1982)
According to the published diaries of
Later career
Lord Carisbrooke, who received no state allowance, became the first member of the British royal family to work in the commercial sector. He began his career working as an entry-level clerk in the offices of Lazard Brothers bankers. He later worked for a company that oversaw housing estates, and before long he took control of social work for the tenants.[19] Later he became a director of Lever Brothers and several other prominent corporations.[19]
Death
Lord Carisbrooke, died in 1960, aged 73, at
Ancestry
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References
- ^ Burke's Peerage Second World War Edition. Burke's Peerage. p. 1961. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- ^ a b "The Marquess of Carisbrooke; A Grandson of Queen Victoria". The Times. 24 February 1960.
- ^ "No. 25655". The London Gazette. 14 December 1886. p. 6305.
- ^ Queen Victoria's Journals – Saturday 18 December 1886
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. 22 April 1902. p. 12.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36763. London. 9 May 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 21 – via hathitrust.org
- ^ "No. 28276". The London Gazette. 3 August 1909. p. 5907.
- ^ "No. 28562". The London Gazette. 15 December 1911. p. 9448.
- ^ "No. 28752". The London Gazette. 2 September 1913. p. 6236.
- ^ "No. 29157". The London Gazette. 7 May 1915. p. 4509.
- ^ "No. 29168". The London Gazette. 18 May 1915. p. 4872.
- ^ "No. 30108". The London Gazette. 30 November 2012. p. 5433.
- ^ "No. 31408". The London Gazette. 17 June 1919. p. 7790.
- ^ "No. 31408". The London Gazette. 17 June 1919. p. 7793.
- ^ "No. 35208". The London Gazette. 4 July 1941. p. 3834.
- ^ "No. 35254". The London Gazette. 22 August 1941. p. 4877.
- ^ "No. 35809". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 December 1942. p. 5279.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: The Marquis of Carisbrooke". The Guardian. 24 February 1960. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ "No. 37179". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1945. p. 3669.
- ^ "No. 30374". The London Gazette. 9 November 1917. p. 11593.
- ^ "No. 30374". The London Gazette. 9 November 1917. p. 11594.
- ISBN 0297645560.
External links
- Portraits of Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke at the National Portrait Gallery, London