Prince Maurice Of Battenberg

Prince Maurice of Battenberg (Maurice Victor Donald), born on 3 October 1891 at Balmoral Castle, was a member of the Battenberg family and the extended British royal family. He was the youngest grandchild of Queen Victoria. His parents were Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, the fifth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Maurice’s full name was selected to honor his father, his great-grandfather Count Mauritz von Hauke, his grandmother Queen Victoria, and Scotland, reflecting his birthplace.

Prince Maurice was styled as His Serene Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg from birth, as his father was a morganatic descendant of the Hessian princely line through his mother, Countess Julia Hauke, who was created Princess of Battenberg in her own right. In the United Kingdom, he was styled His Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg under a royal warrant issued by Queen Victoria in 1886.

He was baptized in the Drawing Room at Balmoral on 31 October 1891, with several distinguished godparents representing various noble and royal families. His godparents included the Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, the Princess of Leiningen, the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg, and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse.

Maurice was the youngest of four siblings. He closely resembled his father and was identified as his mother’s favorite among her sons. His early education took place at Lockers Park Prep School in Hertfordshire.

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

Later, Maurice attended Wellington College, where he was a member of Benson House. He became a Freemason, joining the Old Wellingtonian Lodge No. 3404 on 21 June 1912, and was installed as Master of the Twelve Brothers Lodge, No. 785, in Southampton, on 22 April 1914.

Following his education at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Maurice was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 4 March 1911. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant with effect from 13 February 1914.

During World War I, Prince Maurice served in the British Army. He was killed in action on 27 October 1914 at Zonnebeke, in the Ypres Salient. According to the battalion war diary, his death occurred during an advance under heavy shell and rifle fire, and he was killed outright on top of a ridge.

The news of his death was communicated through military channels, with reports indicating he was killed by a shell while leading his company. Lieutenant-General Douglas Haig noted that Maurice's death was a loss to the Army and described him as a "gallant and valuable officer." His body was not repatriated upon his mother's request, and he was buried in Ypres Town Cemetery. His funeral took place on 31 October 1914, attended by a few soldiers and officers.

His estate was valued at £3,147 in 1917. A memorial tablet dedicated to him and his brother Leopold is located in Winchester Cathedral.

He was honored with the title of Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).

Prince Maurice died at the age of 23. He was never known by the surname Mountbatten, which the Battenberg family adopted in 1917, three years after his death.