The life of Prince Maurice of Battenberg

Despite only living for 23 years, Prince Maurice of Battenberg, was perhaps one of the bravest of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren. Join me in today’s blog as I look at his short life, and heroic death.

At 4am on 3rd October 1891, Queen Victoria was woken up and called to Princess Beatrice’s room at Balmoral Castle, where – less than three hours later – the Princess gave birth to her final child, a boy named Maurice. In her journal, the Queen wrote that “everything went off quite well, & “unberufen” she could not be better. Such a contrast to that dreadful confinement here 4 years ago when dear little Ena was born. So thankful that all is safely over.”

A Royal birth in Scotland was rare, but Maurice’s christening on 31st of October was the first christening of a Prince to take place in Scotland for around 300 years and took place in the Castles drawing room. He was given the names Maurice Victor Donald. ‘Maurice’ was after his father’s middle name and also his paternal grandfather; ‘Victor’ was after his maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria; and ‘Donald’ – a traditional Scottish name – was to honour his place of birth. His godparents included: Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught; Princess Louise of Leiningen; Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence; Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg; and Prince Ernst Louis of Hesse and by Rhine.

Queen Victoria’s journal: The Christening of Prince Maurice of Battenberg

Like his three older siblings, Maurice grew up under the care of governesses but when he was four, his life changed with the unexpected death of his father. Naturally, Princess Beatrice clung to her youngest child, who soon became her favourite. As he got older, Maurice followed in his siblings footsteps and attended Lockers Park Prep School in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, from the age of twelve. In 1905, his education transferred to Wellington College, a boarding school in Berkshire with a strong military tradition. For the next four years he learned a variety of subjects until transferring to the Royal Military College in Sandhurst in 1909.

From a young age, Maurice had dreamt of joining the Kings Royal Rifles Corps, just like his cousin, Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein. After joining as a 2nd Lieutenant, Maurice’s dream had come true but no one could have prepared him for what came next.

When the Great War began in 1914, Maurice and his battalion were inevitably called to the frontline. At first, they were stationed on the Western Front but left in 12th August that same year. After that, there had been some confusion over where him and his troop would be based. On one occasion, they were involved in a worryingly dangerous retreat, which led to the Prince almost being shot in the head. Eventually, they found themselves in Zonnebeke near Ypres. It was here that Maurice was leading an attack when he got hit by shrapnel from a shell blast. Although he was still alive and conscious, Maurice – who suffered from the Royal Disease, haemophilia – knew his wounds were fatal and bid his men one final farewell before tragically passing away, aged just 23, on 27th October 1914.

Princess Beatrice was understandably distraught by the death of her favourite son but rejected Lord Kitcheners offer for his body to be returned to Britain. Instead, he had a soldiers burial at Ypres Town Cemetery, on 31st October, where he was buried amongst his men. The only member of the royal family to attend was his cousin, Prince Arthur of Connaught, who had been stationed nearby. Private memorials also were held for the British and Spanish royal families and dignitaries at St James’s Palace and the chapel in the British Embassy in Madrid, where his sister was Queen. As soon as the armistice had been signed and peace was on its way to being restored, King George V headed to Berlin, where he visited Maurice’s grave for the first time on 9th December 1918.

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