Editing Lord Mountbatten (section)

== Early life ==
Mountbatten, then named Prince Louis of [[Battenberg family|Battenberg]], was born on 25 June 1900 at [[Frogmore House]] in the [[Home Park, Windsor]], Berkshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG4103|title=Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|publisher=British Museum|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-date=25 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925044010/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG4103|url-status=live}}</ref> He was the youngest child and the second son of [[Prince Louis of Battenberg]] and his wife [[Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine]].<ref>{{harvp|Zuckerman|1981|pp=355–364}}</ref> Mountbatten's maternal grandparents were [[Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse]], and [[Princess Alice of the United Kingdom]], who was a daughter of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]. His paternal grandparents were [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]] and [[Julia, Princess of Battenberg]].<ref name=burke>{{harvp|Montgomery-Massingberd|1973|pp=303–304}}</ref> Mountbatten's paternal grandparents' marriage was [[morganatic]] because his grandmother was not of royal lineage; as a result, he and his father were styled "Serene Highness" rather than "Grand Ducal Highness", were not eligible to be titled Princes of Hesse, and were given the less exalted Battenberg title. Mountbatten's elder siblings were [[Princess Alice of Battenberg]] (mother of [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]), Princess Louise of Battenberg (later [[Louise Mountbatten|Queen Louise of Sweden]]), and Prince George of Battenberg (later [[George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven]]).<ref name="burke" />

Mountbatten was baptised in the large drawing room of Frogmore House on 17 July 1900 by the [[Dean of Windsor]], [[Philip Eliot (priest)|Philip Eliot]]. His godparents were Queen Victoria (his maternal great-grandmother), Nicholas II of Russia (his maternal uncle through marriage and paternal second cousin, represented by the child's father) and [[Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg]] (his paternal uncle, represented by [[Lord Edward Clinton]]).<ref name="journal">{{cite web |url=http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/search/displayItemFromId.do?FormatType=fulltextimgsrc&QueryType=articles&ItemID=19000717 |title=Journal Entry : Tuesday 17th July 1900 |author=Queen Victoria |date=17 July 1900 |website=queenvictoriasjournals.org |access-date=5 August 2019 |author-link=Queen Victoria }}</ref> He wore the original 1841 [[royal christening gown]] at the ceremony.<ref name="journal" />

Mountbatten's nickname among family and friends was "Dickie"; however "Richard" was not among his given names. This was because his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, had suggested the nickname of "Nicky", but to avoid confusion with the many Nickys of the Russian Imperial Family ("Nicky" was particularly used to refer to [[Nicholas II]], the last Tsar), "Nicky" was changed to "Dickie".{{r|life1942081763}}

Mountbatten was educated at home for the first 10 years of his life; he was then sent to [[Lockers Park School]] in Hertfordshire<ref name="odnb">{{harvp|Ziegler |2011}}.</ref> and on to the [[Royal Naval College, Osborne]], in May 1913.<ref name="heath183">{{harvp|Heathcote|2002|p=183}}.</ref>

Mountbatten's mother's younger sister was [[Russian Empire|Russian]] Empress [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)|Alexandra Feodorovna]]. In childhood he visited the Imperial Court of Russia at [[St Petersburg]] and became intimate with the [[Russian Imperial Family]], harbouring romantic feelings towards his maternal first cousin [[Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna]], whose photograph he kept at his bedside for the rest of his life.<ref name="king49">{{harvp|King|Wilson|2003|p=49}}.</ref>

Mountbatten adopted his surname as a result of [[World War I]]. From 1914 to 1918, [[Allies of World War I|Britain and its allies]] were at war with the [[Central Powers]], led by the [[German Empire]]. To appease British nationalist sentiment, in 1917 [[King George V]] issued a royal proclamation changing the name of the British [[royal house]] from the German [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] to the [[House of Windsor]]. The king's British relatives with German names and titles followed suit with Mountbatten's father adopting the surname Mountbatten, an [[Anglicisation of names|anglicisation]] of Battenberg. The elder Mountbatten was subsequently created [[Marquess of Milford Haven]].<ref>{{harvp|Hough|1984|p=317}}</ref>