There really was a Leopold, Duke of Albany who lived around the time of the fictional one in this film. The real Prince Leopold was the fourth son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He received the title Duke of Albany in 1881. The film's Leopold already has this title in 1876 and says his last name was Mountbatten . The real prince was considered to have no surname in the ordinary sense, but if he had needed one, he might have used Wettin or Coburg. He married a German princess, not an American, and had nothing to do with the development of the elevator. Like several descendants of Queen Victoria, this Leopold suffered from hemophilia, and died at age 30, probably as an indirect consequence of this disease. During their brief marriage, he and his wife had two children, and they have numerous descendants living now.