Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, (12 May 1919 – 14 April 1970), styled Viscount Alderney before 1921 and Earl of Medina between 1921 and 1938, was the son of the

George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven Captain George Louis Victor Henry Serge Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, (6 November 1892Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv; Wiesbaden, Deutschland; Bestand: ''901''; Laufende Nummer: ''150'' – 8 April 1938), born Prince George of Batten ...

and Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna of Torby.

Biography

Early years and education

Lord Milford Haven was born in 1919. He was the only son of

(who had been born as Prince George of Battenberg), and Russian Countess Nadejda (Nada) Torby, who wed in 1916. His paternal grandparents were Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Therefore, he was a great-great-grandson of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. His maternal grandparents were Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia and Countess Sophie von Merenberg. He is also a descendant of the Russian writer

Aleksandr Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

as well as

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n protégé, General

Abram Petrovich Gannibal Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal, or Abram Hannibal or Abram Petrov ( ru , Абра́м Петро́вич Ганниба́л; c. 1696 – 14 May 1781), was a Russian military engineer, general-in-chief, and nobleman of Afri ...

. He grew up at the family home in Holyport,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

and enjoyed a close friendship with his first cousin

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, later the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

. They both attended Dartmouth Naval College. He served as best man to the prince at his marriage in November 1947 to the Princess Elizabeth, later

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. Upon the death of his father on 8 April 1938, he became the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven and head of the House of Mountbatten.

Navy and postwar social life

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Milford Haven served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. In 1942 he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for taking the destroyer ''

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

'' through a minefield in an attempt to rescue the cruiser ''

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

''. In 1943 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for his work on Malta convoy operations. He retired from the Navy in 1948. He subsequently joined The Castaways' Club, which enabled him to keep in close contact with many of his naval contemporaries. He then played a prominent part in the London demi-monde of the 1950s, which brought together a colourful mix of aristocrats and shadowy social climbers like osteopath Stephen Ward. This hard-partying set formed the nucleus for the Profumo affair.

Marriages

Milford Haven was married twice: * 1) Romaine Dahlgren Pierce (17 July 1923 – 15 February 1975), daughter of Vinton Ulric Dahlgren Pierce, of Washington, D.C., and his wife, Margaret Knickerbocker Clark, on 4 February 1950 in Washington, D.C.; she was formerly married on 23 May 1946 to William Simpson, son of a millionaire Chicago department store owner (by whom she had a daughter) and they were divorced in 1954 in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. She married, thirdly, to James B. Orthwein. Romaine was the great-granddaughter of the Admiral

John A. Dahlgren John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren (November 13, 1809 – July 12, 1870) was a United States Navy officer who founded his service's Ordnance Department and launched significant advances in gunnery. Dahlgren devised a smoothbore howitzer, adaptable ...

and the writer Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren. They had no issue. * 2) Janet Mercedes Bryce (born

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

, 29 September 1937), daughter of

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Francis (Frank) Bryce and Gladys Jean Mosley (whose aunt, Mary Mercedes Bryce, married Colonel Joseph Harold John Phillips, the grandparents of

Alexandra Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn Alexandra Anastasia Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, (''née'' Phillips; 27 February 1946 – 10 December 2018) was a British peeress and philanthropist. She was the wife of James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn, and a descendant of Russian poet ...

and Natalia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster) on 17 November 1960 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Frognal,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. They had two children: # George Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven (born 6 June 1961) #

Lord Ivar Mountbatten Lord Ivar Alexander Michael Mountbatten, DL (born 9 March 1963) is a British aristocrat, farmer, geologist and businessman. He is a former director of SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica. Although he is not a member of the B ...

(born 9 March 1963)

Death

Milford Haven died of a heart attack, aged 50, on 14 April 1970 in London. His ashes were buried in the Battenberg Chapel at

St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham St Mildred's Church, Whippingham is the Church of England parish church of the village of Whippingham, Isle of Wight. History The village of Whippingham, and St Mildred's Church as its parish church, are best known for their connections w ...

, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

photo
.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milford Haven, David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess Of Milford Haven, David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven, David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of British people of German descent British people of Russian descent David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven Royal Navy officers of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Burials at St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham Marquesses of Milford Haven