The Mountbatten Commemorative Lecture was instituted in memory of the late Admiral of the Fleet the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, K.G., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., P.C., F.R.S. who was the Patron of C.U.H.&G.S. until his untimely and shocking death in 1979. He had previously been President of the Cambridge University Society of Genealogists (founded 1954) which merged with C.U.H.&G.S.'s predecessor society of the same name in 1957.
The Minutes Book for 1980–1981 contains this entry:
"The Secretary [Mr Goldstein, Corpus Christi College] agreed to ask Lady Mountbatten for permission to use her father's name for a memorial lecture in remembrance of the late Lord Mountbatten's help as Patron of the Society."
In fact another organisation had already instituted a "Mountbatten Memorial Lecture" and, since Lady Mountbatten wished the name of each such talk to be unique, the "Mountbatten Commemorative Lecture" was established instead. It remains the most important meeting of the year and the lecture has frequently been given by senior members of the College of Arms as shown in the table below. (Some details are incomplete.)
In 1994, the Society was greatly honoured when the Lecture was given by (as he now is) H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent, G.C.V.O.
The Lecture for the year 1984–1985 was concerned with the genealogy of Lord Mountbatten himself and was delivered in the presence of H.R.H. the Earl of Wessex, K.G., K.C.V.O. who was at that time an undergraduate at Jesus College.
| Year | Title of Lecture | Mountbatten Commemorative Lecturer |
| 2020 | "The Genealogy of Monsignor Alfred Newman Gilbey" | Fr. Ronald Creighton-Jobe, C.O. |
| 2019 | "The Graces of Cambridge Colleges and Related Dining Customs" | J. Cable, Esq., M.A. |
| 2018 | "The Monarchical Republic of Oliver Cromwell" | Dr David Smith |
| 2017 | "The Heraldry of Eton College" | D. Broomfield, Esq., Membership Secretary |
| 2016 | "Out of the Blue: Oxford Academic Dress in the Twentieth Century" | A.J.P. North, Esq. |
| 2015 | "Norroy's Reminiscences " | Sir Henry E. Paston-Bedingfeld, Bart., former Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners |
| 2014 | "The College of Arms in the Second World War" | M.P.D. O'Donoghue, Esq., York Herald of Arms |
| 2013 | "Heraldry and Ceremonial in the Holy Roman Empire" | B.J.G.A. Kress, Ph.D. (Secretary, 2003–2006), The Warburg Institute |
| 2012 | Title to be announced | T. Woodcock, Esq., C.V.O., D.L., F.S.A., Garter Principal King of Arms |
| 2011 | "Heraldry of York Minster" | P.A. Fox, M.A., M.B., B.Chir. (President, 1984–1985) |
| 2010 | "The Role of the Lord Lyon" | W. David H. Sellar, Esq., B.A. (Oxon:), LL.B. (Edin:), F.R.Hist.S., Lord Lyon King of Arms |
| 2009 | "‘Les Grandes d'Espagne ne danseront pas:’ Dukes, ducal lookalikes and the dilemmata of rank in Ancien Régime France" | Dr Leonhard Horowski |
| 2008 | "The Court of Chivalry in Stuart Heraldry" | Dr Vittoria Feola, Université libre de Bruxelles |
| 2007 | "The College of Arms in the Eighteenth Century" | M.P.D. O'Donoghue, Esq., M.A., Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms |
| 2006 | "Music in Heraldry" | H.E. Paston-Bedingfeld, Esq., York Herald of Arms |
| 2005 | "The Society of Genealogists Library" | Mrs Susan Gibbons |
| 2004 | "Early New Zealand Grants of Arms" | D.V. White, Esq., M.A., Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms |
| 2003 | "State Funeral of Sir Winston Churchill" | Jack Darrah, Esq. |
| 2002 | "Montgomery Heraldry" | Dr E. Hugh Montgomery |
| 2001 | "Aspects of High State Heraldry" | J.P. Brooke-Little, Esq., C.V.O., M.A., F.S.A., F.S.G., lately Clarenceux King of Arms |
| 2000 | "Earl Mountbatten and Genealogy" | C.R. Humphery-Smith, Esq. |
| 1999 | "Back to the Future: European Heraldry after Communism" | T.A.H. Wilkinson, M.A., Ph.D., Leverhulme Trust Special Research Fellow, University of Durham |
| 1998 | "The Most Noble Order of the Garter" | D.H.B. Chesshyre, Esq., L.V.O., M.A., Clarenceux King of Arms |
| 1997 | "Nelson's Heraldry" | D.V. White, Esq., B.A., M.A., Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms |
| 1996 | "Military Heraldry" | Col. I.S. Swinnerton, T.D., J.P., D.L., President of the Federation of Family History Societies |
| 1995 | Sir Conrad Swan, K.C.V.O., Ph.D., M.A., F.S.A., Garter Principal King of Arms | |
| 1994 | H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent, K.C.V.O. | |
| 1993 | "The Bastards …" | J.P. Brooke-Little, Esq., C.V.O., M.A., F.S.A., F.H.S., Norroy and Ulster King of Arms |
| 1992 | "Polish Heraldry" | C.M.J.F. Swan, Esq., C.VO., Ph.D., M.A., F.S.A., York Herald and Registrar of the College of Arms |
| 1991 | "The Baronies of East Anglia" | John Norton, Esq., Treasurer of Norfolk Heraldry Society |
| 1990 | "The Work of the College of Arms" | F.S. Andrus, Esq., L.V.O., M.A., Beaumont Herald of Arms Extraordinary |
| 1989 | "Some Thoughts on the Origins of Heralds" | J.P. Brooke-Little, Esq., C.V.O., M.A., F.S.A., F.H.S., Norroy and Ulster King of Arms |
| 1988 | "Quinque saltus heraldici – Five Heraldic Leaps" | P.Ll. Gwynn-Jones, Esq., L.V.O., Lancaster Herald |
| 1987 | "European Armorials and Rolls – Some Thoughts and Comparisons" | C.J. Holyoake, Esq. |
| 1986 | "Garter Knights and Officers of the Order of the Garter" | Sir A. Colin Cole, K.C.V.O., T.D., F.S.A., Garter Principal King of Arms |
| 1985 | "The Genealogy of the Earl Mountbatten of Burma" | C.R. Humphery-Smith, Esq. |
| 1984 | "The Work and Records of the College of Arms" | J.P. Brooke-Little, Esq., C.V.O., M.A., F.S.A., F.H.S., Norroy and Ulster King of Arms |
| 1983 | "J.H. Round" | Dr D. Stephenson |
| 1982 | "Arthurian Heraldry" | Michael Maclagan, Esq., Richmond Herald |
| 1981 | "The Work of the College of Arms" | F.S. Andrus, Esq., Lancaster Herald |
For brevity, years are labelled by the calendar year forming the latter part of the academic year. Thus, the 1999 Mountbatten Commemorative Lecture took place in the academic year 1998-1999. Where the Mountbatten Commemorative Lecture took place in the Michaelmas Term, the year is in italic font. Thus the 1985 Mountbatten Commemorative Lecture took place on November 30th, 1984.
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