Prince Maurice Victor Donald of Battenberg was born at Balmoral Castle, the fourth and youngest child of Prince Henry of Battenberg and his wife, Princess Beatrice, the youngest child of Queen Victoria. He was styled His Highness Prince Maurice of Battenberg. He attended Wellington College which had been founded by Queen Victoria and the Earl of Derby in 1859. Despite suffering from the family affliction of hemophilia, he volunteered for the King's Royal Rifle Corps and served in France during the First World War. He was invested as a Knight Commander, Royal Victorian Order. At the First Battle of Ypres in 1914, the first battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps crossed from Zonnebeke to Broodseinde to stop the German infantry on the Keiberg. Prince Maurice was a lieutenant commanding the second division of the battalion. As soon all the troops had crossed, the enemy opened fire from their position on the Keiberg. The Prince was mortally wounded by shrapnel and died on the field before his men could take him to safety. At Princess Beatrice's request, he was buried among his men in the Ypres Town Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. A monument dedicated to his memory was erected at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore in 1917.

Extract from The Roll of Honour, A Biographical record of all members of His Majesty's Naval and Military Forces who have fallen in the War, by the Marquis de Ruvigny, Volume I, The Standard Art Book Company, Ltd, December, 1916 (public domain).

BATTENBERG, HIS HIGHNESS PRINCE MAURICE VICTOR DONALD OF, K.C.V.O., Lieutenant 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps; youngest son of H.R.H. Prince Henry of Battenberg, K.G., P.C. (who died on active service at sea, 20 Jan. 1896, of fever contracted during the Ashanti War), and of H.R.H. the Princess Beatrice (Princess Henry of Battenberg), youngest daughter of Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria; b. at Balmoral Castle, 3 Oct. 1891, and was educated at Wellington, where he was a Lance-Corporal in the O.T.C., and became one of the best marksmen at the College. He went to the National Rifle Association meeting at Bisley with the Wellington Shooting Eight which competed for the Ashburton Shield and other events. After leaving Wellington he went to Sandhurst, from which he was gazetted to a second lieutenancy in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, 4 March, 1911. He was attached to the 1st Battalion, then stationed at Gosport, as part of Brig.-Gen. H. H. Burney's 9th Infantry Brigade. Prince Maurice came under the tuition of Lieutenant-Col. R. S. Oxley and Captain R. H. Seymour, and in due course was posted for duty to the 1st Battalion He served with this unit at Aldershot on transfer there into Gen. Davies' 6th Infantry Brigade, and served under Lieut-Col. E. Northey in Salamanca Barracks, at the town end of the camp, and was senior 2nd Lieutenant while there. He had been made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, 19 June, 1911, and was promoted Lieutenant, 13 Feb. 1914. On the declaration of war he mobilised with his Battalion at the town barracks in Aldershot and proceeded to France on 12 Aug. He proved himself possessed of sound soldierly qualities and was mentioned twice in Sir John (now Lord) French's Despatches [London Gazette, 19 Oct. 1914, and 17 Feb. 1915] for gallantry in the field. At the crossing of the Aisne he was first over the bridge by which his Battalion had to pass under heavy fire, and when Major Armytage led the line forward in a splendid charge he was in the thick of the fray. His name and that of Major Armytage were on every man's lips in the Battalion, The following account of the action was given by Corporal J. Jolley:--"Instead of retiring as we had been doing, on 5 Sept, we advanced five miles to Firoy. There was very fierce fighting, the German infantry advancing to within 800 yards of our artillery, and also in good rifle range. They were practically slaughtered, and hundreds of dead lay everywhere. Early in the morning of the 6th we were up and on the scent, the Guards being the advance guard for a change. Towards the afternoon they got in touch with the German rearguard at a place called by us and the Germans "The Valley of Death." All the artillery possible was brought on to a ridge overlooking this valley, and played on the enemy, who could not get out of it in a hurry, and consequently got many casualties, the Guards capturing eighty men and five maxims, and losing only twelve men. We kept on going until we reached the heights overlooking Charly-sur-Marne. Here we took up our post about two miles from the enemy without knowing it. On the morning of the 7th the King's Royal Rifles were the advance guard. We traversed a wood, and found that the enemy had camped on the other side. We could see the Germans making blockages on the bridge, preparing to blow it up, but on seeing us they made off, and as we had no artillery with us they got off free. The order then came that the bridge must be taken at once. When we got there we found that the bridge had three blockages, comprised of carts, furniture, glass, wire, etc. Prince Maurice of Battenberg was first man over, searching the house beyond all by himself. This was a brave act for an officer alone. The blockage was removed, and the Battalion got across without a shot being fired. We went through Charly-sur-Marne, and halted about one mile on the other side for four hours, as the French were busy in action, and in the end they repulsed the Germans." On 27 Oct. 1914, he was ordered to storm a German position and capture some guns which were doing a lot of damage. On the advance they came to a wood which was too thick for them to get through conveniently, and they had to cross an open field. Prince Maurice was leading his men across this open space when a shell fell and burst right by him. He knew that his injuries were mortal, and wished the men good-bye. He was carried to a field dressing-room, where he died. He was buried at Ypres on 30 Oct. about 3.30 p.m. "and not far away the German big guns were firing on our trenches, and our men were doing their best to put them out of action. The guns were making such a noise that you could not hear the Chaplain's voice. It was a soldier's funeral amidst the noise of battle," wrote Captain W. H. Dyer. The following eulogies were passed upon the Prince:--Sir John French: "The Army has lost a gallant officer, who was a fine example to all around him." General Munro, Commanding the 2nd Division: "His Highness had throughout the campaign displayed a rare example of courage and fortitude to the men of his Battalion," and Sir Douglas Haig: "The Army loses a most gallant and valuable officer." Prince Maurice supported the work of the Army Rifle Association and was also keen on polo, being in the Hurlingham handicap list. He did not play much, but he liked the game and was also fond of football, tennis, and motoring. He was also greatly interested in aviation, and made many flights as a passenger at Hendon. Prince Maurice was made a Freemason in the Heroum Filii Lodge, No. 3,404 (the Lodge of the Old Wellingtonians) on 21 June, 1912, and was installed Master of the Twelve Brothers Lodge, No. 785 Southampton, 22 April, 1914. His two brothers are (1916) on active service--Prince Alexander Albert with the Grenadier Guards and Prince Leopold with the 60th Rifles.