Royal Musings: Lady Tatiana Mountbatten weds Alick Dru

Lady Tatiana Mountbatten arrives at Winchester Cathedral with her father, Lord Milford Haven
All photos @Ken Stone

Lady Tatiana Mountbatten married Alexander "Alick" Dru on July 23, 2022, in Winchester Cathedral. The bride is the daughter of George, the 4th Marquess of Milford Haven, and his first wife, Sarah Walker, who is now married to Lord Spencer of Alresford.

First and foremost, my thanks to Ken for allowing me to use his photos. He is the copyright holder. These photos may not be reproduced anywhere (including social media or blogs) without the permission of the copyright holder.

Although the bride and groom's family and friends came out the cathedral's front door, the newly married couple did not. They chose, apparently, to use another door to leave Winchester Cathedral. They probably sold exclusive rights to their wedding to a magazine, perhaps Hello, Vogue, or Horse and Hound. The bride is a professional equestrian.

Lady Tatiana is a descendant of Queen Victoria through the late queen's third child and second daughter, Princess Alice who married Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and By Rhine. Their eldest child, Princess Victoria married her father's first cousin, Prince Louis of Battenberg, the scion of a morganatic marriage between Prince Alexander of Hesse and By Rhine and Countess Julie von Hauke.

Prince Louis of Battenberg was a naturalized Briton and spent his entire career in the Royal Navy. In 1917, he stopped using his German titles, adopted the surname Mountbatten and was created Marquess of Milford Haven, Earl of Medina, and Viscount Alderney.

Victoria and Louis had four children: Alice, Louise, George, and Louis. George succeeded his father as the 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven in 1921. He was married to Countess Nada Torby, the daughter of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia and Countess Sophie von Merenberg. They had two children, Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, who was mentally disabled, and David, who became the 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven when his father died from cancer in 1938.

David and his first cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark were childhood friends. Philip's mother, Alice, married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Prince Philip asked David to be his best man when he married the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947.

The friendship between the two cousins ended shortly after the wedding due to David's behavior. His first marriage to Romaine Pierce ended in divorce in 1954. He remarried in 1960 to Janet Bryce. They had two sons: George and Lord Ivar.

David was only 50 years old when he suffered a fatal heart attack in Liverpool Street in April 1970. He was succeeded by his then eight-year-old son, George, Earl of Medina.

Victoria - Alice - Victoria - George - David - George - Tatiana

Victoria - Alice - Victoria - Alice - Philip - Charles -William

Lady Tatiana and the Duke of Cambridge are third cousins.

Alexander Dru is the son of Bernard Dru, the youngest of four children (and only son) of Major Alexander Dru and Gabriel Mary Hermione Herbert, the eldest child of the Hon. Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert and Hon. Mary Gertrude Vesey, the only child of the 4th Viscount de Vesci.

Aubrey was the son of Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, and his second wife, Elizabeth Catherine Howard.

Bernard and Catherine run Bernard Dru Oak Ltd, which produces and installs high-quality oak flooring, "sustainably sourced" from woodlands in the Haddeo Valley. They live in Bickham Manor in Timberscome, Somerset