From the archive, 24 February 1960: Obituary: The Marquis of Carisbrooke

The Marquis of Carisbrooke, last surviving grandson of Queen Victoria and a cousin of the present Queen, died yesterday at Kensington Palace, aged 73. He was the eldest son of the late Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice, and a brother of ex-Queen Ena of Spain. He was known as Prince Alexander of Battenberg until 1917.

It was at the request of King George V that he relinquished the styles and titles of "Highness," "Prince" and "of Battenberg" in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. He assumed for himself and his issue the surname of Mountbatten. The day before his marriage to the only daughter of the second Earl of Londesborough he was created Marquis of Carisbrooke, Earl of Berkhamsted, and Viscount Launceston.

The Marquis was a director of several companies and was the first member of the Royal Family to take up commercial life. He had entered the Navy in 1902, at the age of 16. Six years later he transferred to the Grenadier Guards and served with distinction throughout the First World War. It was after the war that he became a business man. He received no State allowance and started work as an ordinary clerk in the offices of Lazard Brothers, the bankers. Later he became a director of Lever Brothers, and other big concerns.

When he became a director in 1936 of a famous Oxford Street drapery store he announced his intention of doing his day's work in the store as well as his director's duties. His duties were then described as being "an adviser to buyers of decorative fabrics." Before that he had worked for a time with the Metropolitan Housing Corporation which controlled many housing estates for artisans, and eventually took full charge of the social work connected with the estates.

Early in the Second World War he joined the R.A.F. For some time he was a staff officer attached to Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory and later he went to Fighter Command headquarters.

After the war he lived at King's Cottage, overlooking Kew Gardens, one of the dwindling number of "grace and favour" houses at the disposal of the Queen. Subsequently he lived at Kensington Palace. Lady Carisbrooke died in 1956.

Among his several interests the Marquis was a senior steward of the National Greyhound Racing Club, president of the Bribery Prevention League, and London president of the Old Contemptibles.