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 the Empress of Russia. 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. Queen Louise was noted for her eccentricity and progressive views. Early life 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 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.