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Prince Maurice of Battenberg

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Prince Maurice of Battenberg
Born3 October 1891
Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire
Died27 October 1914(1914-10-27) (aged 23)
Burial
Ypres, Belgium
Names
Maurice Victor Donald
FamilyBattenberg
FatherPrince Henry of Battenberg
MotherPrincess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
OccupationMilitary (King's Royal Rifle Corps)

Prince Maurice of Battenberg, KCVO, (Maurice Victor Donald; 3 October 1891 – 27 October 1914) was a member of the Hessian princely Battenberg family and the extended British Royal Family, the youngest grandchild of Queen Victoria. He was known as Prince Maurice of Battenberg throughout his life, since he died before the British Royal Family relinquished their German titles during World War I and the Battenbergs changed their name to Mountbatten.

Early life

Prince Maurice was born on 3 October 1891. He was given the name Maurice after his father Prince Henry of Battenberg and the great-grandfather, Count Maurice von Hauke, Victor after his grandmother the Queen, and Donald in honour of Scotland, as he was born at Balmoral Castle. His father was Prince Henry of Battenberg, the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Julie Therese née Countess of Hauke. His mother was Princess Henry of Battenberg (née The Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom), the fifth daughter and the youngest child of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort.

As he was the child of a morganatic marriage, Prince Henry of Battenberg took his style of Prince of Battenberg from his mother, Countess Julia Hauke who was created Princess of Battenberg in her own right. As such, Maurice was styled as His Serene Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg from birth. In the United Kingdom, he was styled His Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg under a Royal Warrant passed by Queen Victoria in 1886.[1]

The youngest of his four siblings, Maurice most resembled his father, who died when the Prince was only four, the same age his mother was when her own father died. He was his mother's favourite out of his brothers. He was educated at Lockers Park Prep School in Hertfordshire.[2]

His elder sister Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, married Alfonso XIII of Spain and was Queen Consort of Spain between 1906 and 1931.

Later life

Maurice attended Wellington College and was a member of Benson House. Prince Maurice was made a Freemason in the Old Wellingtonian Lodge No. 3404 (the Lodge of the Old Wellingtonians) on 21 June 1912 and was installed Master of the Twelve Brothers Lodge, No. 785 Southampton on 22 April 1914.[3]

The Prince served in World War I as a lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, and was killed in service in the Ypres Salient in 1914. He is buried in Ypres Town Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.[4] A memorial tablet to him and his brother Leopold is in Winchester Cathedral.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles

  • His Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg
    • In Germany: His Serene Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg

Honours

  • Prince Maurice of Battenberg circa 1900-1905
    Prince Maurice of Battenberg circa 1900-1905
  • Coat of Arms of Prince Maurice of Battenberg
    Coat of Arms of Prince Maurice of Battenberg
  • Grave of Prince Maurice of Battenberg in Ypres, Belgium.
    Grave of Prince Maurice of Battenberg in Ypres, Belgium.
  • Winchester Cathedral, memorial to Prince Maurice and his brother Leopold
    Winchester Cathedral, memorial to Prince Maurice and his brother Leopold

Ancestry

Family of Prince Maurice of Battenberg
16. Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
8. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
17. Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt
4. Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
18. Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden
9. Princess Wilhelmine of Baden
19. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
2. Prince Henry of Battenberg
20. Friedrich Carl Emanuel Hauke
10. Count John Maurice Hauke
21. Maria Salomé Schweppenhäuser
5. Countess Julia Hauke
22. Franz Leopold Lafontaine
11. Sophie Lafontaine
23. Maria Theresia von Kornély
1. Prince Maurice of Battenberg
24. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
12. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
25. Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf
6. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
26. Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
13. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
27. Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
3. Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
28. George III of the United Kingdom
14. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
29. Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
7. Victoria of the United Kingdom
30. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (= 24)
15. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
31. Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf (= 25)

References

  1. ^ "No. 25655". The London Gazette. 14 December 1886. p. 6305.
  2. ^ "Artist celebrates old boys with exhibition". Hemel Today. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Lieutenant H.H. Prince Maurice Victor Donald of Battenberg, KCVO". Masonic Great War Project. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  4. ^ CWGC: Prince Maurice of Battenberg
  5. ^ "No. 28505". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1911. p. 4595.
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