06 MAR 2024
A tribute & memorial website to honour​ - Lord Louis MOUNTBATTEN, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
GEORGE, 4th MARQUESS OF MILFORD HAVEN
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George Ivar Louis Mountbatten, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven, 4th Earl of Medina & 4th Viscount Alderney was born on 6th June 1961 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, the eldest son of David Michael Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven (1919-1970) and his second wife - Miss Janet Mercedes Bryce (b.1937). From birth he was styled Earl of Medina, and was christened on 1st November 1961 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Frognal, Hampstead, London - the same church where his parents were married in 1960. Following the sudden death of his father on 14th April 1970, he succeeded as 4th Marquess etc. just two months before his 9th birthday.
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George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven
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George is the current Head of the Mountbatten Family (as the senior male descendant of Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon. Sir Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, formerly Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854-1921). As a direct descendant of Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901), he is in the line of succession to the British Throne and is a third cousin once removed to Queen Elizabeth II (1926(1952-2022). George is also a first cousin once removed to Prince Philip, 1st Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021). Like many members of his family, George was educated at the famous Gordonstoun School, the boarding school in Moray, Scotland, founded by Kurt Hahn (1886-1974).
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George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven
as a young man
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George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven
fishing with his great-uncle - Mountbatten
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ABOVE: George,
4th Marquess of Milford Haven
with his first wife - Sarah, at Royal Ascot
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RIGHT: Moyns Park, Birdbrook, Essex
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On 8th March 1989 at Chelsea Registry Office, London, George married - Mrs Sarah Georgina Antoniou (née Walker) (b.1961), the daughter of George Walker (1929-2011), a former fish porter at Billingsgate Market and boxer, who became a self-made millionaire businessman who founded the Brent Walker property and leisure consortium. His company accumulated debts of £1.2bn by 1991 with debt-financed acquisitions. A collapse in property prices and high interest rates put the company in financial difficulties. Walker was ousted from the Board in 1991 and the group’s bankers took control, enforcing a process of sale of the company’s assets.
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Following the major financial losses of Sarah's father, it appeared her dowry of £25m would also be lost, which put considerable strain on their marriage. George and Sarah lived at Moyns Park - an Elizabethan mansion near Birdbrook, Essex. The estate was left equally to George and his brother - Lord Ivar Mountbatten (b.1963), by the widow of their mother's cousin - John Charles Felix 'Ivar' Bryce (1906-1985), who died in 1992 and quickly became a financial burden on them. George decided to sell his share to his brother and said later - "It was like putting three or four grand a week into a bucket and dropping it down a well, and all because of the aristocracy's obsession with keeping their estates going for the next generation. I kept it up for seven years. It virtually ruined me."
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As part of the Northern Ireland peace process, it became clear that the IRA prisoner who planted the bomb in August 1979 may be up for release. In November 1994, George publicly expressed his shock and horror saying - "that a cold blooded murderer, who has wrought untold damage... can be considered a changed man and let loose into the outside world makes a total mockery of the judicial system. He should never be allowed out until he is driven out in a hearse."
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George and Sarah had 2 children -
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The Lady Tatiana 'Tatty' Helen Georgia Dru (née Mountbatten), born 16th April 1990 at the Portland Hospital, London
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Henry 'Harry' David Louis Mountbatten, Earl of Medina, born 19th October 1991 at the Portland Hospital, London
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The Milford Havens were divorced in February 1996. Sarah remarried in June 2016, the successful billionaire businessman Michael Spencer (b.1955), a former Treasurer of the Conservative Party, who was nominated for a Life Peerage by former Prime Minister The Rt Hon. David Cameron, later Lord Cameron (b.1966) in his Dissolution Honours List in 2016 but the nomination was blocked. He was finally awarded a Life Peerage taking the title - Baron Spencer of Alresford in the 2020 Political Honours List of Prime Minister The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson(b.1964) - announced 31st July 2020, and thus Sarah became Lady Spencer of Alresford.
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ABOVE: Sarah Spencer (née Walker)
now Lady Spencer of Alresford,
first wife of George,
4th Marquess of Milford Haven
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LEFT: The Lady Tatiana Mountbatten
BELOW: Harry, Earl of Medina
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Tatiana has become a respected equestrian - who trained under Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin (b.1985) - and specialises in dressage. She recently said - "I’m the most competitive person you’ll ever meet and I absolutely want to win… I was raised with horses - my dad played so much polo that I used to sit on his horse as a baby…” In January 2022, Tatiana announced her engagement to Alexander 'Alick' Bernard Molyneux Dru (b.1991), a great-great grandson of The Rt Hon. Sir Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon (1831-1890). On 23rd July 2022, they were married at Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire. Tatiana wore an ivory tulle veil and a cap-sleeved gown by designer Suzanne Neville with embroidery on the train inspired by the dress of her mother. On 16th June 2023, Tatiana announced on Instagram that she and Alick were expecting their first child and on 20th September 2023, a baby girl - Elodie was born.
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Lady Tatiana Mountbatten arriving at Winchester Cathedral for her wedding to Alexander 'Alick' Dru in July 2022.
Her father (George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven) has his back to the camera
and her brother (Henry 'Harry', Earl of Medina) in the sunglasses in the background
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The wedding of Lady Tatiana Mountbatten to Alexander 'Alick' Dru
at Winchester Cathedral in July 2022 - (left to right):
Henry 'Harry', Earl of Medina; Clare, Marchioness of Milford Haven; George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven;
and the bride's mother Sarah Spencer (née Walker),
Lady Spencer of Alresford
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Lady Tatiana Dru (née Mountbatten)
in June 2023,
proudly showing off her 'baby bump'
when she announced on Instagram
that she was pregnant
with her first child
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ABOVE: Alexander 'Alick' Dru
& Lady Tatiana Dru
(née Mountbatten) at Royal Ascot
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RIGHT: Lady Tatiana Dru
(née Mountbatten)
in November 2023,
with baby daughter Elodie
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This latest addition to the Mountbatten family is George's first grandchild and is also a great-great-great-great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria (1819(1837-1901).
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George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven -
an internet businessman
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Like his father, George has a great acumen for business and in 2000 he founded the internet site - uSwitch, a website which helps consumers compare and change suppliers of various services such as their electricity company. The company was an instant success, as it gave consumers a greater ability to save themselves money than ever before. The American media firm EW Scripps bought the company for £210m ($400m) when the company was placed on the market in March 2006.
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George married on 20th August 1997 at Coatue Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA - Mrs Clare Husted Wentworth-Stanley (née Steel) (b.1960), the American born daughter of Anthony Nigel Steel (1925-1983) and his wife Mrs Anne Husted (née Reiner) (b.1931). From her first marriage Clare had three children - James (1985-2006), Harry (b.1989) and Louisa (b.1993). In July 2020, Harry Wentworth-Stanley married Cressida Bonas (b.1989), a former girlfriend of Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex (b.1984) and a granddaughter of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe (1908-1984).
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Prince William, The Prince of Wales,
then The Duke of Cambridge (right)
opened "James' Place"
in Liverpool in June 2018
with Clare, Marchioness
of Milford Haven (left)
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IF YOU NEED HELP -
CLICK ON THE LINK
TO VISIT JAMES' PLACE WEBSITE
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Clare, Marchioness of Milford Haven
with her late son -
James Wentworth-Stanley (left)
who took his own life in December 2006
and in whose memory James' Place
was founded
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Sadly in December 2006, Clare's eldest son James took his own life and as a result his parents established 'The James Wentworth-Stanley Memorial Fund' (JWSMF) to raise awareness of anxiety, depression and suicide amongst young people. Clare works tirelessly for JWSMF alongside her former husband and family. Clare and her team established James' Place in Liverpool - the UK's first centre outside of a clinic or hospital for helping suicidal men by giving counselling and therapy. was opened by Prince William, The Prince of Wales (then The Duke of Cambridge) in June 2018. She said at the time of the Prince's visit about James - "I always felt, had a place like this existed, he might still be here today." Clare won the Woman Making a Difference Award at the Merseyside Woman of the Year Awards less than a year after opening James' Place.
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A short film from James' Place - with Clare, Marchioness of Milford Haven talking
about her motivation behind starting James' Place and the importance of persuading young people,
and young men in particular, to open up about their worries before it is too late.
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"WE UNDERSTAND. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER"
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LEFT & RIGHT: Portraits of George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven (left)
and Clare, Marchioness of Milford Haven (right) by Gillian Erskine-Hill
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Both George and Clare are leading lights in the polo circuit and they have created one of the largest polo yards in the country which is the base for four high-goal teams including his own Broncos team. Great Trippetts Farm - (a former 1,000 acre diary farm near the Hampshire/West Sussex border) houses 350 ponies and has 26 paddocks for them to exercise and employs up to 70 grooms to care for them. Their estate has helped boost polo around the country and spread its appeal further afield. George and Clare have also founded ‘The Trippetts Polo Challenge’ and 'The James Wentworth-Stanley Memorial Cup' (in Clare's son's memory) and have become a firm fixture in the polo season.
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Queen Elizabeth II presents a cup to
Clare, Marchioness
of Milford Haven
following a polo match at
The Guard's Club
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LEFT & RIGHT:
George & Clare, The Marquess & Marchioness of Milford Haven
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On 29th March 2022, a Memorial Service was held at Westminster Abbey, London to honour and commemorate the life of Prince Philip, 1st Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021). The clergy who officiated were - The Very Rev. David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster (b.1957), Dean of Windsor, The Rt Rev David Conner (b.1947), Dean of Windsor and The Most Rev & Rt Hon. Justin Welby (b.1956), Archbishop of Canterbury. As the Covid restrictions had been lifted, it was therefore possible for those members of the UK and European Royal Families unable to attend the funeral at St George's Chapel to attend this Service. The congregation was led by The Queen - who was controversially accompanied by Prince Andrew, The Duke of York (b.1960). She wore a shade of 'Edinburgh Green' as a tribute to Philip's official livery.
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Members of the Mountbatten/Knatchbull Family who attended Prince Philip's Memorial Service included - George, 4th Marquess of Milford Haven, accompanied by The Marchioness; Lord Ivar Mountbatten & Mr James Coyle; Penny, Countess Mountbatten of Burma; Mr & Mrs Nicholas Knatchbull (Lord & Lady Brabourne); The Lady Alexandra Hooper & Mr Thomas Hooper; The Hon. Philip Knatchbull; The Hon. Mr & Mrs Timothy Knatchbull; Mr Ashley Hicks; Mr & Mrs David Flint Wood.
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LEFT: The Marchioness
of Milford Haven;
George, 4th Marquess
of Milford Haven (obscured)
behind Mr & Mrs David
Flint Wood arriving
at Prince Philip's
Memorial Service at
Westminster Abbey
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BELOW: The Order of Service
for Prince Philip's Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey.
Click on the image below to download the Order of Serivce
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Queen Elizabeth II
at Prince Philip's
Memorial Service
at Westminster Abbey
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