A parliamentary challenge to Battenberg's appointment to HMS Dreadnought asked why a foreign-born officer had advanced over roughly thirty British officers. Lord George Hamilton answered that Dreadnought's captain had specifically requested Battenberg. Another officer preparing to command a large ironclad in the Mediterranean had also requested him. Hamilton added that twenty-two commanders junior to Battenberg held similar appointments. The requests and the comparison with his contemporaries directly answered the suggestion that he had received an exceptional favour.
Notable Point · 35:02-36:07
The parliamentary challenge to Battenberg's Dreadnought appointment
Requests from commanding officers and the appointments of junior contemporaries answered objections to Battenberg's foreign birth.