Wallace Collection of the wealthiest families in Europe. They owned large properties in England, Wales and Ireland, and increased their wealth through successful marriages. Politically of lesser importance, the 3rd and 4th Marquess and Sir Richard Wallace became leading art collectors of their time. The Wallace Collection, comprising about 5,500 works of art, was bequeathed to the British nation by Lady Wallace in 1897. The state then decided to buy Hertford House to display the collection and it was opened as a museum in 1900. As a museum the Wallace Collection's main strength is perhaps its extraordinary array of 18th-century French art:
Marquess of Milford Haven are held by his great-grandson, the fourth Marquess, who succeeded his father in 1970. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979), was the second son of the 1st Marquess of Milford Haven. Alexander Albert Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke (1886–1960), was a nephew of the 1st Marquess of Milford Haven. The family lived at Lynden Manor at Holyport, Berkshire, now split into four houses. A later seat was Moyns Park in Birdbrook, Essex. The 1st and 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven are buried at St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham; the 2nd Marquess is buried in Bray Cemetery, Bray, Berkshire. The