He was born in the United Kingdom to the prominent Battenberg family. He saw action during the closing phase of the First World War , and after the war briefly attended Christ's College, Cambridge.
During the interwar period , Mountbatten continued to pursue his naval career, specialising in naval communications.
He saw considerable action in Norway, in the English Channel, and in the Mediterranean. He was appointed chief of Combined Operations and a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee in early , and organised the raids on St Nazaire and Dieppe.
For his service during the war, Mountbatten was created viscount in and earl the following year. He then served as the first Governor-General of the Union of India until June and played a significant role in persuading princely states to accede to India. From to , he was First Sea Lord , a position that had been held by his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg , some forty years earlier. Thereafter he served as chief of the Defence Staff until , making him the longest-serving professional head of the British Armed Forces to date.
His godparents were Queen Victoria his maternal great-grandmother , Nicholas II of Russia his maternal uncle through marriage and paternal second cousin, represented by the child's father and Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg his paternal uncle, represented by Lord Edward Clinton. Mountbatten's nickname among family and friends was "Dickie"; however "Richard" was not among his given names. This was because his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, had suggested the nickname of "Nicky", but to avoid confusion with the many Nickys of the Russian Imperial Family "Nicky" was particularly used to refer to Nicholas II , the last Tsar , "Nicky" was changed to "Dickie".
