Louise Mountbatten

Louise Alexandra Marie Irene Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg; 13 July 1889 – 7 March 1965) was Queen of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until her death in 1965 as the wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf. Born a princess of the German House of Battenberg, Louise was closely related to the ruling families of Britain as a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and of Russia as a niece of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. She was also an older sister to Lord Mountbatten and aunt to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. During the First World War, Louise served as a nurse in the Red Cross. She married the widowed Gustaf Adolf in 1923 and assumed the role of Sweden's first lady but did not become queen until his accession in 1950. Louise was noted for her eccentricity and progressive views.

Louise was born a Princess of Battenberg at Schloss Heiligenberg, Seeheim-Jugenheim, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse.

Her father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, who was an admiral in the British Royal Navy, renounced his German title during the First World War and anglicised his family name to "Mountbatten" at the behest of George V. He was then created the first Marquess of Milford Haven in the peerage of the United Kingdom. From 1917, therefore, his daughter was known as "Lady Louise Mountbatten".

Her mother was Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Louise was a sister of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and of Princess Alice of Battenberg who was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She was also a maternal niece of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.

Because of her father's work, the family moved around between different territories in the British Empire, such as Malta, but they returned often to the Heiligenberg outside Darmstadt which they considered their holiday home, always retaining a residence in England. Louise often visited her great-grandmother Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wight with her mother during her childhood. The family is described as harmonious; the parents of Louise lived in a happy loving relationship, not in an arranged marriage, and Louise was particularly close to her brother, with whom she corresponded until her death. Louise and her sister were educated by governesses, except for a brief period at Texter's girls school in Darmstadt.

In 1914, Louise and her mother visited the Russian Empire, and were invited to a trip down the Volga with their Imperial relatives. During her visit, Louise noted the influence of Rasputin with concern. The trip was interrupted by the sudden outbreak of the First World War, and Louise's father telegraphed for them to return immediately. Louise's mother gave her jewellery to the empress for safe keeping, and they left Russia by boat from Hapsal in Estonia and travelled to neutral Sweden, paying for the trip with gold, as their money was suddenly not acceptable currency in Russia. They stayed in Sweden as guests of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Crown Princess Margaret, her first cousin once removed, at Drottningholm Palace, just one night before they returned to Great Britain.

During the First World War, Louise was first active within the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association and the Smokes for Soldiers and Sailors, but she soon enlisted in the Red Cross for service as a nurse. She was active at a French military hospital in Nevers, and then at a war hospital at Palaves outside Montpellier, from March 1915 until July 1917. She was commended for her hard work, and was awarded The British War and Victory Medals, a medal from the British Red Cross, as well as the Médaille de la Reconnaissance française. After the war, she was active in social work for the children in the slums of Battersea in London.

In 1909, Louise received a proposal from Manuel II of Portugal. Her grand-uncle, Edward VII, the British monarch, was in favour of the match, but Louise declined, as she wished to marry for love. At the age of twenty, Louise became secretly engaged to Prince Christopher of Greece, but they were forced to give up their relationship for financial reasons. Shortly before World War I broke out, Louise fell in love with a man of whom her parents approved but he was killed in the early days of the war. Later during the war, while she volunteered as a nurse in Nevers, she began a relationship with Alexander Stuart-Hill, a Scottish artist living in Paris. Anticipating that her parents would be disappointed in her choice, Louise kept their engagement a secret. Eventually, she confided in her parents, who were understanding, and invited Stuart-Hill for visits at Kent House twice. In fact, her family, referring to him as "Shakespeare" because of his odd appearance, found him "eccentric" and "affected". Lacking resources, the engaged couple agreed to postpone marriage until after the war. In 1918, however, Louise's father explained to her that Stuart-Hill was most likely homosexual, and that a marriage with him was impossible.