Category Archives: German Royals

Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe: In 1647, the County of Schaumburg-Lippe was formed through the division of the County of Schaumburg by treaties between the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and the Count of Lippe.  In 1808, the County of Schaumberg-Lippe was raised to a Principality and Georg Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg became the first Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Adolf II, the last Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 15, 1918, and lived out his life in exile. In 1936, Adolf and his wife were killed in an airplane crash in Mexico. Today, the land encompassing the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe is in the German state of Lower Saxony.

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Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe was born on December 20, 1784, at Bückeburg Castle  (link in German) in Bückeburg, County of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. He was the only son and the third of the four children of Philipp II Ernst, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe and his second wife Landgravine Juliane of Hesse-Philippsthal.

Bückeburg Castle, Georg Wilhelm’s birthplace; Credit – Von Beckstet – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9684542

In 1756, Georg Wilhelm’s father Philipp Ernst first married Princess Ernestine Albertine of Saxe-Weimar (1722-1769). They had three sons and one daughter but Ernestine Albertine died in 1769 and by 1780, all four children had died and Philipp Ernst was left without an heir.

Georg Wilhelm’s half-siblings from his father’s first marriage:

  • Count Clemens August (born and died 1757)
  • Count Karl Wilhelm (1759 – 1780)
  • Count Georg Karl (1760 -1776)
  • Countess Friederike Antoinette (1762 -1777)

Georg Wilhelm’s mother Juliane of Hesse-Philippsthal; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of his last surviving son in 1780, 57-year-old Philipp II Ernst, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe married 21-year-old Landgravine Juliane of Hesse-Philippsthal, hoping to have a son to succeed him. After giving birth to two daughters, Julianne finally gave birth to an heir, Georg Wilhelm, in 1784.

Georg Wilhelm had three sisters:

  • Countess Eleonore Luise (1781 – 1783), died in early childhood
  • Countess Wilhelmine Charlotte (1783 – 1858), married Ernst zu Münster, Cabinet Minister of the Kingdom of Hanover, had one son
  • Countess Karoline Luise (1786 – 1846)

Count Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn, an important person in Georg Wilhelm’s childhood; Credit – Wikipedia

Two months after his second birthday, Georg Wilhelm became the reigning Count of Schaumberg-Lippe upon the death of his 64-year-old father on February 13, 1787. His mother Julianne and Count Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn, an illegitimate son of King George II of Great Britain by his mistress Amalie von Wallmoden, served as Regents of the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe. Shortly after the death of Philipp II Ernst, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe, William IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel occupied Schaumburg-Lippe, arguing that it was a fief of Hesse-Kassel and it was up for grabs after Philipp Ernst’s death. With military support from Hanover and Prussia and the rulings of the Reichshofrat, the court of the Holy Roman Empire responsible for matters relating to imperial fiefs and imperial privileges, Juliane managed to achieve a rapid withdrawal of the Hessian troops.

In the short time, Julianne served as regent, she conducted thorough reforms of the economy and education, downsized the court, continued the tolerant policy towards the Jews her father-in-law had introduced, and managed to cut taxes. She appointed Bernhard Christoph Faust (link in German) as her personal physician and helped him with the introduction of the smallpox inoculation.

On November 9, 1799, fifteen-year-old Georg Wilhelm lost his surviving parent when his mother Julianne died at the age of 38 after a severe cold. Count Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn took over as Georg Wilhelm’s regent and Georg Wilhelm lived under his supervision in Hanover. In 1802, he studied at the University of Leipzig and then traveled to Switzerland and Italy.

In 1807, Georg Wilhelm took over the government. In the same year, after joining the Confederation of the Rhine, sixteen German states joined together in a confederation formed by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, the County of Schaumburg-Lippe was raised to the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe and Georg Wilhelm became its first reigning prince. In 1815, Schaumburg-Lippe joined the German Confederation, an association of 39 German-speaking countries created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of the German-speaking countries and to replace the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved in 1806. Georg Wilhelm abolished serfdom without compensation and introduced a restricted constitution in 1816.

Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 23, 1816, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, Georg Wilhelm married Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Born on September 26, 1796, Ida was one of the thirteen children of Georg I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and wife Princess Auguste of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Georg Wilhelm and Ida had nine children whose births spanned twenty-four years:

During the Revolutions of 1848, when there were demands for more participation in government and democracy, Georg Wilhelm gave in to some liberal demands but then changed to a more reactionary course in 1849 by abolishing the new constitution without restoring the old one.

Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, aged 75, died on November 21, 1860, at Bückeburg Castle (link in German) in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. He was buried in the Princely Mausoleum (link in German) at the Evangelical Lutheran St. Martini Church (link in German) in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. Georg Wilhelm’s wife Ida survived him by nine years, dying on April 12, 1869, in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France at the age of 72. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Mausoleum at St. Martini Church.

St. Martini Church; Credit – Von Beckstet – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9678243

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Schaumburg-Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Georg Wilhelm (Schaumburg-Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_(Schaumburg-Lippe)> [Accessed 15 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George William, Prince Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_William,_Prince_of_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 15 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Landgravine Juliane Of Hesse-Philippsthal. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landgravine_Juliane_of_Hesse-Philippsthal> [Accessed 15 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philip II, Count Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II,_Count_of_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 15 October 2020].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2018. Schaumburg-Lippe Royal Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-schaumburg-lippe/schaumburg-lippe-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 15 October 2020].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Willem Van Schaumburg-Lippe (1784-1860). [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Willem_van_Schaumburg-Lippe_(1784-1860)> [Accessed 15 October 2020]

Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe (Leopold Julius Bernhard Adalbert Otto Karl Gustav) was born Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld on May 30, 1871, in Oberkassel. Oberkassel was the seat of the counts and later princes of Lippe-Biesterfeld. In 1815, it was taken over by the Kingdom of Prussia and now Oberkassel is a district of the city of Bonn, Germany. Leopold was the eldest of the three sons and the second of the six children of Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld and Countess Karoline Friederike Cecilia of Wartensleben. Leopold’s father Ernst was the head of the non-reigning Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe, the most senior line of the princely house after the reigning Lippe-Detmold line.

Leopold had five siblings:

Leopold’s childhood home, Lippe House in Oberkassel: Credit – By Tohma – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3570902

Leopold began his education at the Klosterschule Roßleben (link in German), founded in 1554 and still in existence, in Roßleben, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Thuringia. For his secondary education, Leopold attended the Pädagogium Putbus (link in German) in Putbus, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, graduating in 1891. From 1891 – 1894, Leopold served as an officer in the Imperial German Army. Leopold studied political science at the University of Bonn and the University of Berlin from 1894 – 1895. At the University of Bonn, he became a member of the Corps Borussia, a German student association. In 1895, Leopold returned home because the Lippe succession dispute required his presence.

In 1895, the childless Woldemar, Prince of Lippe died and his unmarried, mentally incapacitated brother Alexander succeeded him as Prince of Lippe, with a regency. Since 1871, Alexander had been confined at the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium, a private sanatorium for men with nervous and mental disorders, near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1890, Woldemar, Prince of Lippe issued a decree, ordering that it be kept secret until his death, appointing Prince Adolf of the reigning House of Schaumburg-Lippe, the brother-in-law of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, as his brother’s regent. After the reigning Princes of Lippe, Lippe-Biesterfeld was the most senior line of the princely house followed by the Counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. According to the house law, Leopold’s father Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld was the heir and entitled to be the Regent of the Principality of Lippe.

Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld disputed the regency of Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe. The Lippe parliament confirmed Prince Adolf as regent but agreed, along with Prince Adolf, to submit to an arbitration decision. Due to the intervention of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, there was intense interest in the Lippe succession dispute throughout Europe. The dispute also caused a temporary rift between Wilhelm II, who supported his brother-in-law Prince Adolf of Schaumberg-Lippe, and his Chancellor, Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, who supported Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld for legal reasons and also because of a family relationship. On June 22, 1897, the seven-member Court of Arbitration, comprised of King Albert of Saxony as President and six Judges of the Imperial Court, granted Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld the regency of the Principality of Lippe and the right to succeed Alexander, Prince of Lippe.

Leopold and his first wife Bertha with their three eldest children; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 16, 1901, in Rotenburg an der Fulda, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Hesse, Leopold married the first of two wives, Princess Bertha of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld. Bertha was the daughter of Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst of Hessen-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, a rear admiral in the Prussian and German Imperial Navy, and the second of four wives, Princess Juliane of Bentheim and Steinfurt.

Leopold and Bertha had five children:

  • Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Lippe (link in German) (1902 – 1987), married (1) Charlotte Ricken, divorced (2) Herta-Elise Weiland, had one son and one daughter
  • Prince Leopold Bernhard of Lippe (1904 – 1965), unmarried
  • Princess Karoline of Lippe (1905 – 2001), married Count Hans of Kanitz, had six daughters
  • Prince Chlodwig of Lippe (1909 – 2000), married Veronika Holl, had one daughter
  • Princess Sieglinde of Lippe (1915 – 2008), married Friedrich Carl Heldman, had two daughters and one son

Leopold’s father Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld died on September 26, 1904, and Leopold succeeded him as Regent of the Principality of Lippe. Four months later, Alexander, Prince of Lippe, the last of the Lippe-Detmold line, died on January 13, 1905. With the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who reigned as Leopold IV and would be the last reigning Prince of Lippe.

During Leopold IV’s reign, there was much economic and cultural advancement. The major building projects provided much-needed employment for the people of Lippe. Christ Church in Detmold (link in German) was built in 1908 to accommodate the growing Protestant community which had outgrown the small Church of the Redeemer. It is the burial site of Leopold IV, his two wives, and most of their children.

Christ Church in Detmold; Credit – Von Daniel Brockpähler – Eigene Fotografie, bearbeitet mit Photoshop von Nikater, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8648403

In 1825, Leopold II, Prince of Lippe had built a theater and established a very successful theater company, the Lippe Princely Court Theater (Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater). In 1912, the original theater burned to the ground because of a damaged chimney. Leopold IV had the theater rebuilt during World War I, financed with donations from the Detmold citizens and funds from the Princely House. The rebuilt theater and the theater company still exists today. Now called the Landestheater Detmold, it is a theater for operas, operettas, musicals, ballets, and stage plays in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

During World War I, Leopold upgraded the titles of some members of the House of Lippe. In 1916, Leopold’s nephews, sons of his brother Bernhard, were upgraded to the title Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld with the style Serene Highness. One of these nephews was Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would marry Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. The Counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld also were upgraded with the creations of the title Prince of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the style Serene Highness.

Following the German Empire’s defeat in World War I and the German Revolution of 1918-1919, Leopold IV was forced to renounce the throne on November 12, 1918, by the Lippe People’s and Soldiers’ Council. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government allowing his family to remain in Lippe. Three months later, on February 19, 1919, Leopold’s wife Bertha died at the age of 44. She was buried at the Christ Church, one of her husband’s building projects, in Detmold, then in the new Weimar Republic, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Princess Anna of Ysenburg and Büdingen; Credit – geni.com

On April 26, 1922, in Büdingen, Germany, Leopold married Princess Anna of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1886–1980). Anna was the youngest of the eight children of Bruno, 3rd Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen and his second wife Countess Bertha of Castell-Rüdenhausen. Princess Anna had been married for three years to Count Ernst of Lippe-Weissenfeld until he was killed in action early in World War I on September 11, 1914.

The nine-year-old daughter of Anna and her first husband became Leopold’s stepdaughter:

  • Princess Eleonore of Lippe-Weissenfeld (1913 – 1964), married and divorced Adolph Sweder Hubertus, Count of Rechteren-Limpurg, had two one son and one daughter

Leopold and Anna had one son:

Leopold’s son Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Lippe as a witness during the Nuremberg Trials;  Credit – Wikipedia

During the rise of Nazism in Germany, all three of Leopold’s sons by his first wife Bertha became members of the Nazi Party. The eldest son the Hereditary Prince Ernst is reported to have been the first German prince to join the Nazi Party when he signed up in May 1928. Ernst’s brother Chlodwig joined the Nazi Party in 1931 and the other brother Leopold Bernhard joined in 1932. Hereditary Prince Ernst later became an SS-Major (Schutzstaffel Sturmbannführer) and held a high-ranking post in the SS Race and Settlement Main Office. The SS (Schutzstaffel) was the agency of security, surveillance, and terror in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The SS Race and Settlement Main Office was responsible for safeguarding the racial purity of the SS within Nazi Germany. At the end of World War II, Hereditary Prince Ernst of Lippe was taken prisoner by the Allies and took part in the Nuremberg Trials as a witness. The denazification tribunal in the Detmold administrative district classified Ernst as a Lesser Offender, Category III. He was not imprisoned but rather placed on probation for two-three years with a list of restrictions.

In addition to being pro-Nazi, both Hereditary Prince Ernst and Prince Khlodwig had made unequal marriages. Due to these circumstances, Leopold rewrote his will in 1947, indicating that Armin, his only child with his second wife, would succeed him as the head of the House of Lippe and become the administrator of the princely family’s properties such as the Residenzschloss Detmold (link in German), thereby disinheriting all three of his sons from his first marriage.

Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe, aged 78, died on December 30, 1949, in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was buried with his first wife Bertha at the Christ Church in Detmold (link in German). Leopold’s second wife Anna survived him by thirty-one years, dying on February 8, 1980, in Detmold at the age of 94, and was also buried at Christ Church.

Leopold IV and Anna’s son Armin was head of the House of Lippe from 1949 until he died in 2015. Armin’s only child Stephan, Prince of Lippe (born 1959) succeeded him as head of the House of Lippe. Stephan married Countess Maria of Solms-Laubach and they had three sons and two daughters.

Stephan, Prince of Lippe; Credit – geni.com

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ernst Leopold Prinz Zur Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Leopold_Prinz_zur_Lippe> [Accessed 13 October 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold IV. (Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_IV._(Lippe)> [Accessed 13 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ernest, Count Of Lippe-Biesterfeld. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest,_Count_of_Lippe-Biesterfeld> [Accessed 13 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold IV, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_IV,_Prince_of_Lippe> [Accessed 13 October 2020].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2018. Lippe Royal Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-lippe/lippe-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 13 October 2020].
  • Petropoulos, Jonathan, 2009. Royals And The Reich. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Alexander, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Alexander, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander, Prince of Lippe (Karl Alexander) was the seventh of the nine children of Leopold II, Prince of Lippe and Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. He was born on January 16, 1831, in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Alexander had six older siblings and two younger siblings. It appears his brothers Leopold and Woldemar, who were both reigning Princes of Lippe, were the only ones who married but neither had any children. This would eventually create a succession crisis.

Alexander served as a captain in the army of the Kingdom of Hanover. He had a fall from his horse in 1851 and over the subsequent years, he developed the first signs of mental disorder. In 1870, due to the worsening of his mental disorder, Alexander was legally declared incapacitated. The following year, it became necessary to place Alexander in the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium, a private sanatorium for men with nervous and mental disorders, near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, where he spent the remainder of his life.

St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium where Alexander was a patient from 1871 until he died in 1905; Credit – Wikipedia

There appears to be a history of mental disorder in the Lippe family. Alexander’s grandfather Leopold I, Prince of Lippe had mental disorders that interfered in his role as reigning prince. He was deemed incapacitated by the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court), one of two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, and placed under guardianship. Leopold I’s condition improved for a while, allowing him to marry. However, because of Leopold I’s tenuous mental condition, his wife Pauline became his governmental adviser and colleague, staying mostly in the background and avoiding anything that could be interpreted as exceeding her duties. Within the next few years, Leopold I developed intestinal tuberculosis and his mental disorders returned with memory loss. Leopold I, Prince of Lippe died at the age of 34. Prince Friedrich (1797 – 1854), Leopold I’s second son, was also described as temporarily mentally disturbed and Prince Kasimir August (1777 – 1809), Leopold I’s brother exhibited schizophrenic traits.

When Alexander’s father Leopold II died in 1851, he was succeeded by his eldest son Leopold III. The childless Leopold III died in 1875 and was succeeded by his next brother Woldemar, also childless. During Woldemar’s reign, Alexander became Woldemar’s only surviving brother, the last of the line of the House of Lippe, and therefore his heir.

Because Alexander had been declared incapacitated and therefore, incapable of governing, a regency would be necessary during Alexander’s reign. In 1884, Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld succeeded his father as the head of the non-reigning Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. After the reigning Princes of Lippe, Lippe-Biesterfeld was the most senior line of the princely house followed by the Counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. According to the house law, Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld was the heir.

Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld; Credit – Wikipedia

However, Woldemar did not want Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld to be his brother’s regent because of a personal dislike and because of his desire to bequeath his principality to a member of a ruling princely house. In 1890, Woldemar issued a decree, ordering that it be kept secret until his death, appointing Prince Adolf of the reigning House of Schaumburg-Lippe, the brother-in-law of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, as his brother’s regent. When Woldemar, Prince of Lippe died March 20, 1895, his incapacitated brother Alexander succeeded him as Prince of Lippe, with a regency. However, Woldemar’s appointment of Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe as his brother’s regent sparked the Lippe succession dispute.

Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld disputed the regency of Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe.  The Lippe parliament confirmed Prince Adolf as regent but agreed, along with Prince Adolf, to submit to an arbitration decision. Due to the intervention of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, there was intense interest in the Lippe succession dispute throughout Europe. The dispute also caused a temporary rift between Wilhelm II, who supported his brother-in-law Prince Adolf of Schaumberg-Lippe, and his Chancellor, Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, who supported Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld for legal reasons and also because of a family relationship. On June 22, 1897, the seven-member Court of Arbitration, comprised of King Albert of Saxony as President and six Judges of the Imperial Court, granted Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld the regency of the Principality of Lippe and the right to succeed Alexander, Prince of Lippe.

As for Alexander, he probably knew nothing about the Lippe succession dispute. He remained at the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium. He was able to attend concerts and plays, and spent his time playing chess, copying pictures from illustrated newspapers, listening to music, and playing chess. However, Alexander did know his rank and position and insisted on the proper etiquette.

Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld, the future Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld remained as regent until his death on September 26, 1904, at the age of 62. His son Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld succeeded him as head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line, Regent of the Principality of Lippe, and heir to the Lippe throne.

Alexander, Prince of Lippe, the last of the Lippe-Detmold line, died on January 13, 1905, aged 73, at the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium, near Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. He was buried at the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would be Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe.

Mausoleum on the Büchenberg in Detmold. photo: by Tsungam – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18903057

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ernst Zur Lippe-Biesterfeld. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_zur_Lippe-Biesterfeld#Lippischer_Erbfolgestreit> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ernest, Count Of Lippe-Biesterfeld. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest,_Count_of_Lippe-Biesterfeld> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1895. Lippe Succession Decided.. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1897/07/08/105948202.html?pageNumber=7> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1904. LIPPE’s INSANE MONARCH.; Prince Is Not Closely Confined — Goes To Concerts And Theatres.. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/14/101399441.html> [Accessed 21 October 2020].

Woldemar, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Woldemar, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (Günther Friedrich Woldemar) was born on April 18, 1824, in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He was the second of the six sons and the third of the nine children of Leopold II, Prince of Lippe and Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Woldemar had two elder siblings and six younger siblings. It appears that Woldemar and his elder brother Leopold were the only ones who married and neither had any children. This would eventually create a succession crisis. After the death of Woldemar’s successor and brother Alexander and the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would be the last Prince of Lippe.

Sophie of Baden, Woldemar’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 9, 1858, in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Woldemar married Princess Sophie of Baden. Sophie was the daughter of daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Baden and Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Württemberg. Her paternal grandparents were Karl Friedrich, the first Grand Duke of Baden, and his morganatic second wife, Louise Caroline Geyer von Geyersberg, Countess of Hochberg. The marriage of Woldemar and Sophie was childless.

Because Woldemar was a second son and not expected to succeed to the throne, he had a career in the Prussian Army. He achieved the rank of General and was the commander of the 55th (6th Westphalian) Infantry “Count Bülow von Dennewitz”. He was a Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia.

Woldemar succeeded his childless elder brother Leopold III, Prince of Lippe upon his death on December 8, 1875. He inherited an unpleasant constitutional situation that had been going on during his brother’s reign. Leopold III had opposed the liberal reforms, more participation in government and democracy, that resulted from the German revolutions of 1848–49. He dissolved the state parliament, repealed the constitution of 1849, and reintroduced the constitution of 1836. He then replaced his cabinet councilors with conservatives. Leopold’s position was that he had neither initiated nor approved, let alone sworn to, the constitution forced by the revolution. The constitutional dispute continued throughout Leopold III’s reign and the rift between conservatives and liberals, between town and country, deepened. The citizens of the Principality of Lippe hoped that their new, more liberal prince would remedy the situation and he did to a large extent.

On January 13, 1876, Woldemar appointed August Eschenburg as President of the Cabinet with the task of restoring constitutional conditions. Eschenburg succeeded in convening a working state parliament and persuaded the nobility to renounce its class privileges. Apart from his grandmother Princess Pauline, who served as Regent for eighteen years for her son Leopold II until he reached his majority, no other Prince of Lippe dealt with government affairs as successfully as Woldemar did.

Woldemar had no children to succeed him and his only surviving brother was Alexander who suffered from mental illness and had been declared incapacitated since 1871 and therefore, incapable of governing. A regency would be necessary during the reign of Alexander. In 1884, Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld succeeded his father as the head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. After the reigning Princes of Lippe, Lippe-Biesterfeld was the most senior line of the princely house followed by the Counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. However, Woldemar did not want Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld to be his brother’s regent because it would mean Ernst would become the heir. In 1890, Woldemar issued a decree, ordering that it be kept secret until his death, appointing Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe, the brother-in-law of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia, as his brother’s regent.

Crypt in the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg; Credit – Von unbekannt / Tsungam – Foto: Eigenes Werk; Infotafel: Freunde der Residenz Detmold, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20182639

Woldemar, Prince of Lippe died March 20, 1895, aged 70, in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He was buried at the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold. His wife Sophie survived him by nine years, dying on April 6, 1904, at the age of 70. She was buried with her husband. Woldemar’s incapacitated brother Alexander succeeded him as Prince of Lippe, with a regency. However, Woldemar’s appointment of Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe as his brother’s regent sparked the Lippe succession dispute that is discussed in Alexander, Prince of Lippe’s article.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Woldemar (Lippe-Detmold). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woldemar_(Lippe-Detmold)> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Woldemar, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woldemar,_Prince_of_Lippe> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Leopold II, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-prince-of-lippe/> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

Leopold III, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Leopold III, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (Paul Friedrich Emil Leopold) was born on September 1, 1821, in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He was the eldest of the six sons and the eldest of the nine children of Leopold II, Prince of Lippe and Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Leopold III had eight younger siblings. Leopold and his brother Woldemar were the only ones who married and neither had any children. This would eventually create a succession crisis. After the death of Leopold’s brother Alexander and the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line, the throne of the Principality of Lippe went to Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld who would be the last Prince of Lippe.

Leopold, left, with his parents and sister Luise; Credit – www.findagrave.com

  • Princess Luise of Lippe (1822 – 1887)
  • Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (1824 – 1895), married Princess Sophie of Baden, no children
  • Princess Friederike of Lippe (1825 – 1897)
  • Prince Friedrich of Lippe (1827 – 1854)
  • Prince Hermann of Lippe (1829 – 1884)
  • Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831 – 1905), unmarried, a regency was established due to his mental illness
  • Prince Karl of Lippe (1832 – 1834), died in childhood
  • Princess Pauline of Lippe (1834 – 1906)

Leopold studied at the University of Bonn and served as an officer in the Prussian Gardes du Corps, the personal bodyguard of the King of Prussia. When his father died on January 1, 1851, Leopold became Leopold III, Prince of Lippe. A year later, on April 17, 1852, Leopold married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia. Elisabeth was the daughter of Albrecht, the sovereign Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and Princess Augusta Luise of Solms-Braunfel. The marriage of Leopold and Elisabeth was childless.

Leopold opposed the liberal reforms and the participation in government and democracy that resulted from the German revolutions of 1848–49. He dissolved the state parliament, repealed the constitution of 1849, and reintroduced the constitution of 1836. He then replaced his cabinet councilors with conservatives. Leopold’s position was that he had not initiated, approved, or swore to the constitution forced by the revolution. The constitutional dispute continued and the rift between conservatives and liberals, between town and country, deepened. This certainly hurt Leopold who was considered affable and friendly.

In 1854, Leopold did institute some religious reform when he issued edicts that gave the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church the same legal status as the Calvinist State Church of Lippe. When Leopold became Prince of Lippe, the principality was a member of the German Confederation, and Leopold supported Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. After the war, when the North German Confederation was formed, the Principality of Lippe became a member and remain a member until the creation of the German Empire in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War.

The Mausoleum on the Büchenberg in Detmold that Leopold III had built; Credit – Von Tsungam – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18903057

On December 8, 1875, Leopold III, Prince of Lippe, aged 54, died in Detmold after suffering a stroke and was succeeded by his brother Woldemar. He was buried at the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. For many years, the Church of the Redeemer (link in German) in Detmold served as the burial site for the House of Lippe. However, by the time Leopold III came to the throne in 1851, there was no room left, and some coffins were being stacked while others were being stored in the church basement. This led to Leopold III building the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg. The remains of several members of the princely family were moved from the Church of the Redeemer to the new Mausoleum after its completion in 1855. Leopold III’s wife Elisabeth survived him by twenty-one years, dying in 1896 at the age of 63, and was buried with her husband.

Crypt in the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg; Credit – Von unbekannt / Tsungam – Foto: Eigenes Werk; Infotafel: Freunde der Residenz Detmold, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20182639

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold III. (Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III._(Lippe)> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold III, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III,_Prince_of_Lippe> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Leopold II, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-prince-of-lippe/> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2018. Lippe Royal Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-lippe/lippe-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

Leopold II, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Leopold II, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold II, Prince of Lippe (Paul Alexander Leopold) was born on November 6, 1796, in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was the elder of the two sons of Leopold I, Prince of Lippe and Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg.

Leopold with his mother and younger brother; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold had one younger brother and one sister who survived for only one day:

  • Prince Friedrich (1797 – 1854), unmarried, served in the Imperial and Royal Army in the Austrian Empire
  • Princess Luise (born and died 1800)

The mental disorders of Leopold’s father Leopold I, Prince of Lippe interfered with his role as reigning prince. In 1790, Leopold I was deemed incapacitated by the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court), one of two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, and placed under guardianship. In 1795, the guardianship was conditionally lifted after Leopold I’s condition improved and that is when Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg agreed to marry him.

Because of Leopold I’s mental condition, his wife Pauline became his governmental adviser and colleague, staying mostly in the background and avoiding anything that could be interpreted as exceeding her duties. Within the next few years, Leopold I developed intestinal tuberculosis, and his mental disorders returned with memory loss. Leopold I, Prince of Lippe died on April 4, 1802, at the age of 34. As his son and successor Leopold II, Prince of Lippe was just five-years-old, his mother Pauline very capably acted as Regent of the Principality of Lippe until 1820.

Malwida von Meysenbug, a German writer who was also active politically and as a promoter of writers and artists. a German writer who was active politically and a promoter of writers and artists, wrote in her Memoirs of an Idealist: “The only thing that Princess Pauline could not do was bring up her two sons, her only children. In order to teach them the principles of strict morality, she had tyrannized the two of them and treated them like children for so long that the oldest had become shy and reserved by nature, half a savage.”

As Regent of the Principality of Lippe, Pauline postponed the transfer of power to her son Leopold II, Prince of Lippe several times because of her disappointment in him and her belief that she could not turn over the government to him with a clear conscience. Finally, she announced her resignation as Regent on July 3, 1820. Leopold II needed her assistance at first and Pauline ensured that her assistance was not overt. Once her son was settled in his position as Prince of Lippe, Pauline planned to retire. However, before she could retire, Pauline died on December 29, 1820, aged 51.

On April 23, 1820, in Arnstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia, Leopold II married Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Emilie was the elder of the two children and the only daughter of Günther Friedrich Karl I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Princess Karoline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the daughter of reigning Prince Friedrich Karl of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Emilie’s brother succeeded their father as Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Leopold and his wife Emilie with two of their children; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Leopold and Emilie had nine children including three reigning Princes of Lippe:

The court theater (Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater), photo from 1910; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold, shy by nature, lived a restrained life. He had two passions: hunting and the theater. The Lippe Princely Court Theater (Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater) he established in Detmold was among the best in the German monarchies but the cost was disproportionately high compared to the principality’s income. The architect Johann Theodor von Natorp was commissioned to design the theater building and the groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 18, 1825. On November 8, 1825, the curtain of the Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater went up for the first time for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart‘s opera La Clemenza di Tito. The schedule for the theater included both opera and plays. In 1912, the original theater burned to the ground because of a damaged chimney. However, the theater was rebuilt, financed with donations from the Detmold citizens and funds from the Princely House. The rebuilt theater and the theater company established by Leopold II are still in existence today. Now called the Landestheater Detmold, it is a theater for operas, operettas, musicals, ballets, and stage plays in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

On January 1, 1851, Leopold II, Prince of Lippe died in Detmold at the age of 54. Initially buried at the Church of the Redeemer (link in German) in Detmold, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Leopold’s remains were later moved to the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold after the mausoleum’s completion in 1855. His wife Emilie survived him by sixteen years, dying in 1867. She was buried with her husband at the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg.

Crypt in the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg; Credit – Von unbekannt / Tsungam – Foto: Eigenes Werk; Infotafel: Freunde der Residenz Detmold, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20182639

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold II. (Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II._(Lippe)> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Landestheater Detmold. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landestheater_Detmold> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold II, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II,_Prince_of_Lippe> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Leopold I, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-i-prince-of-lippe/> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Pauline Of Anhalt-Bernburg, Princess Of Lippe, Regent Of Lippe. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/pauline-of-anhalt-bernburg-princess-of-lippe-regent-of-lippe/> [Accessed 5 October 2020].

Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg, Princess of Lippe, Regent of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg, Princess of Lippe, Regent of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg was not only Princess Consort of Lippe, she ably served as Regent of the Principality of Lippe for eighteen years during the minority of her son Leopold II, Prince of Lippe. The social work that she started in Detmold, then in the Principality of Lippe, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, continues today with the charity she founded, the Princess Pauline Foundation (Fürstin-Pauline-Stiftung in German). Pauline is considered one of the most important rulers of Lippe.

Ballenstedt Castle, Pauline’s birthplace; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Pauline Christine Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg was born at Ballenstedt Castle in Ballenstedt, Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, on February 23, 1769. She was the youngest of the two children of Friedrich Albrecht, the reigning Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg and Princess Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. Sadly, Pauline’s twenty-year-old mother died from measles on March 2, 1769, one week after Pauline’s birth.

Pauline had one elder brother:

Pauline and her brother Alexius were educated together and supervised by their father. Receiving the same education as a brother was unusual at that time. However, Pauline’s father recognized her intellect and the education she received would prove useful during the eighteen years she served as the Regent of the Principality of Lippe. Pauline excelled at her studies, learning French, Latin, history, and political science. Her education was influenced by Christian ethics and Enlightenment ideas, including the writings of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. By the time she was thirteen years old, Pauline was assisting her father in his government affairs. First, she took over the French correspondence and then all correspondence between her father’s residence at Ballenstedt Castle and the government offices in Bernburg.

In 1795, Pauline agreed to marry Leopold I, Prince of Lippe. Throughout Leopold’s upbringing and education, he exhibited a lack of strength of character, a lack of interest, a lack of concentration, and a tendency to mental disorders. Leopold succeeded his father when he was fourteen years old and took over the reins of government on his 21st birthday in 1789. However, by the next year, Leopold’s mental disorders interfered with his role as reigning prince and he was deemed incapacitated by the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court), one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, and placed under guardianship. In 1795, the guardianship was conditionally lifted after Leopold’s condition improved and that is when Pauline agreed to marry him. On January 2, 1796, at Ballenstadt Castle in Ballenstedt, Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, Pauline and Leopold I, Prince of Lippe were married.

Pauline and her two sons; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Pauline had two sons and a daughter who survived for only one day:

  • Leopold II, Prince of Lippe (1796 – 1851), married Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, had six sons and three daughters including three reigning Princes of Lippe
  • Prince Friedrich (1797 – 1854), unmarried, served in the Imperial and Royal Army in the Austrian Empire
  • Princess Luise (born and died 1800)

Because of the tenuous mental condition of her husband Leopold, Pauline became his governmental adviser and colleague, staying mostly in the background and avoiding anything that could be interpreted as exceeding her duties. Within the next few years, Leopold developed intestinal tuberculosis, and his mental disorders returned with memory loss. Leopold I, Prince of Lippe died on April 4, 1802, at the age of 34. As Leopold I’s son and successor Leopold II, Prince of Lippe was just five-years-old, his mother Pauline very capably acted as Regent of the Principality of Lippe until 1820.

Pauline, circa 1801; Credit – Wikipedia

Among Pauline’s many accomplishments during the eighteen years she served as the Regent of the Principality of Lippe were:

  • A vocational school for poor children and orphans (1799)
  • A hospital with a first aid center (1801)
  • A voluntary workhouse for adult charity recipients (1802)
  • The first daycare center in all of the German monarchies (1802)
  • The abolishment of serfdom (1808)
  • Maintaining the independence of the Principality of Lippe during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)
  • A new constitution was adopted (1819)

Pauline was most proud of her social accomplishments. An orphanage had existed since 1720 and a teacher training college had been founded in 1781. She grouped the orphanage and the teacher training college with the institutions she had founded: the vocational school, the daycare center, the hospital, and the voluntary workhouse under the term “nursing homes” and housed them in a former convent, assisting cradle-to-grave. These six institutions formed the basis of the Princess Pauline Foundation (Fürstin-Pauline-Stiftung in German), still in existence in Detmold, now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is an independent Lutheran foundation devoted to charitable purposes and childcare, youth work, and care of the elderly.

Pauline postponed transferring power to her son Leopold II, Prince of Lippe several times because of her disappointment in him and her belief that she could not turn over the government to him with a clear conscience. Finally, she announced her resignation as Regent on July 3, 1820. Leopold needed her assistance at first and Pauline ensured that her assistance was not overt. Once her son was settled in his position as Prince of Lippe, Pauline planned to retire to the Lippehof, a baroque palace built in Lemgo in 1734. However, before she could move from Detmold, Pauline died on December 29, 1820, aged 51, from a lung ulceration. Initially buried at the Church of the Redeemer (link in German) in Detmold, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Pauline’s remains were later moved to the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold after the mausoleum’s completion in 1855.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Albrecht (Anhalt-Bernburg). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Albrecht_(Anhalt-Bernburg)> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Pauline (Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_(Lippe)> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Princess Pauline Of Anhalt-Bernburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Pauline_of_Anhalt-Bernburg> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Leopold I, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-i-prince-of-lippe/> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • Fürstin-Pauline-Stiftung – Die Diakonische Einrichtung Fuer Jugendhilfe Und Altenhilfe In Detmold. [online] Fuerstin-pauline-stiftung.de. Available at: <https://www.fuerstin-pauline-stiftung.de/de/welcome> [Accessed 5 October 2020].

Leopold I, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Lippe: Originally called Lippe-Detmold, the Principality of Lippe came into existence in 1789 when it was raised from a County within the Holy Roman Empire to a Principality. Leopold I, Count of Lippe-Detmold became the first Prince of Lippe.

At the end of World War I, Leopold IV, the last Prince of Lippe, was forced to abdicate on November 12, 1918. However, Leopold negotiated a treaty with the new government that allowed his family to remain in Lippe. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Lippe is located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Leopold I, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold I, Prince of Lippe (Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold) was born in Detmold, County of Lippe-Detmold, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 2, 1767. He was the only child of Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold (1727 – 1782) and his second wife Princess Maria Leopoldine of Anhalt-Dessau (1746 – 1769).

Leopold’s father Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold married four times and had a child from each marriage except his fourth marriage to Princess Christine of Solms-Braunfels (1744 – 1823). Therefore, Leopold had two half-siblings:

From his father’s first marriage to Princess Polyxena Louise of Nassau-Weilburg (1733 – 1764):

  • Princess Wilhelmine Caroline of Lippe-Detmold (1751 – 1753), died in childhood

From his father’s third marriage to Princess Casimire of Anhalt-Dessau (1749 – 1778), sister of Leopold’s mother:

  • Prince Casimir August of Lippe-Detmold (1777 – 1809), unmarried

Leopold’s mother died when he was only two years old and his father married two more times. His father’s third wife Princess Casimire of Anhalt-Dessau, his mother’s sister and therefore his maternal aunt, was important in his childhood but died when Leopold was eleven-years-old. Two years after Casimire’s death, Leopold’s father married for a fourth time to Princess Christine of Solms-Braunfels who survived her stepson Leopold by 21 years. Leopold’s father Simon August, Count of Lippe died on May 1, 1782, and fourteen-year-old Leopold succeeded him as Count of Lippe-Detmold.

Leopold was seen as a difficult child. He had difficulty learning, rebelled against his upbringing, and was stubborn. Because of this, he was sent to his maternal uncle Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, the brother of his mother Marie Leopoldine and his stepmother and aunt Casimire. In 1785, Leopold was sent to the University of Leipzig in the Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. However, in both Dessau and Leipzig, the opinion about Leopold was the same: lack of strength of character, lack of interest, lack of concentration, and a tendency to mental disorders.

In 1789, the County of Lippe-Detmold within the Holy Roman Empire was raised to the Principality of Lippe and Leopold became the first Prince of Lippe. When Leopold reached his 21st birthday in 1789, he took over the reins of government of the Principality of Lippe. However, by the next year, Leopold’s mental disorders interfered with his role as reigning prince and he was deemed incapacitated by the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court), one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, and placed under guardianship.

In 1795, the guardianship was conditionally lifted after Leopold’s condition improved. Leopold had proposed marriage repeatedly to Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg, daughter of Friedrich Albrecht, the reigning Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg and Princess Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön but Pauline had rejected him. Finally, after an improvement in his mental condition, Pauline agreed to marry Leopold. On January 2, 1796, at Ballenstadt Castle in Ballenstedt, Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, Leopold and Pauline were married.

Pauline with her two sons; Credit – Wikipedia

Leopold and Pauline had two sons and a daughter who survived for only one day:

Because of Leopold’s tenuous mental condition, his wife Pauline became his governmental adviser and colleague, staying mostly in the background and avoiding anything that could be interpreted as exceeding her duties. Within the next few years, Leopold developed intestinal tuberculosis, and his mental disorders returned with memory loss. Leopold I, Prince of Lippe died on November 5, 1802, aged 34, in Detmold, Principality of Lippe, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He was initially buried at the Church of the Redeemer (link in German) in Detmold. His remains were later moved to the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold after the mausoleum’s completion in 1855. As Leopold I’s son and successor Leopold II, Prince of Lippe was just five years old, his mother Pauline very capably acted as Regent of the Principality of Lippe until 1820.

Crypt in the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg; Credit – Von unbekannt / Tsungam – Foto: Eigenes Werk; Infotafel: Freunde der Residenz Detmold, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20182639

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold I. (Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I._(Lippe)> [Accessed 4 October 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Simon August (Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_August_(Lippe)> [Accessed 4 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Princess Pauline Of Anhalt-Bernburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Pauline_of_Anhalt-Bernburg> [Accessed 4 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Leopold I, Prince Of Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I,_Prince_of_Lippe> [Accessed 4 October 2020].

Prince Aribert of Anhalt

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Aribert of Anhalt was the husband of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom from 1891 until the marriage was dissolved in 1900. Prince Aribert Joseph Alexander of Anhalt was born on June 18, 1864, in Wörlitz, Duchy of Anhalt, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. He was the fourth of the four sons and the fifth of the six children of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt and Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg.

Aribert had four elder siblings and one younger sibling:

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Aribert met his future wife, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, in 1890, at the wedding of Marie Louise’s first cousin Princess Viktoria of Prussia and Prince Adolph of Schaumberg-Lippe. Marie Louise was the daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, a daughter of Queen Victoria. Aribert served in the Prussian military and was close friends with Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia, Marie Louise’s first cousin. Wilhelm encouraged the relationship, and it was at a family luncheon at his Neues Palais in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia that the engagement of Marie Louise and Aribert was announced in December 1890. The couple was married in the presence of Queen Victoria on July 6, 1891, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.

The couple settled in Dessau, the capital of the Duchy of Anhalt. However, Marie Louise found life there difficult due to the strict court etiquette. Aribert’s primary focus was his military career and he had little interest in having a life at home. Fortunately for Marie Louise, they spent little time in Anhalt, as Aribert was based primarily in Berlin.

It soon became obvious that Aribert and Marie Louise had little in common, and they would often go days without seeing each other, even while living in the same home. Often suffering from ill-health in the cold weather, Marie Louise traveled extensively. It was while on one of these trips, to the United States and Canada, that her marriage ended without her knowledge. On November 13, 1900, the New York Times reported that “a judicial separation between Prince and Princess Aribert of Anhalt is an accomplished fact. The deeds were signed and the other formalities completed during the stay in Berlin of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, father of the Princess.”

While traveling in Canada, Marie Louise received a cable from her father-in-law, demanding that she return home immediately. Just an hour later, she received another cable, this time from Queen Victoria – “tell my granddaughter to come home to me. V.R.” Upon arriving in England, Marie Louise was told that her marriage had been dissolved by her father-in-law, at her husband’s insistence. It has been speculated that the marriage was never consummated and that Aribert was homosexual, and had been caught in a compromising situation with another man by either his wife or his father. In her memoirs, Marie Louise stated that even though her marriage was annulled, she maintained the vows she had made at her wedding, and would never remarry.

Prince Aribert; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1894, Prince Aribert became the chairman of the German Empire Olympic Committee in preparation for the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece in 1896. He was once again chairman of the German Empire Olympic Committee for the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Aribert’s eldest brother had predeceased their father and so upon the death of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt in 1904, his second son Friedrich II became Duke of Anhalt. Friedrich II’s marriage was childless and so upon his death in April 1918, the third son Eduard became Duke of Anhalt. Eduard’s reign was only five months long as he died in September 1918. Eduard’s 17-year-old son Joachim Ernst became Duke of Anhalt. As Joachim Ernst was underage, his uncle Aribert served as Regent. With the German Empire crumbling, Aribert abdicated on Joachim Ernst’s behalf on November 12, 1918, and the Duchy of Anhalt became the Free State of Anhalt.

Prince Aribert of Anhalt died on December 24, 1933, aged 69, in Munich, Germany. He was buried in the Ducal Mausoleum (link in German) in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1958, the remains of members of the House of Anhalt were removed from the Ducal Mausoleum secretly by night for political reasons (Dessau was then in Communist East Germany) and reburied in the Ziebigker Cemetery in Dessau in a common grave, marked only by a simple wooden cross. In 2019, Aribert’s remains were moved a second time and reinterred in the Marienkirche (link in German) in Dessau, the traditional burial site of the Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau dating back to the 15th century. The Marienkirche was destroyed during World War II and has since been rebuilt.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Aribert Von Anhalt. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aribert_von_Anhalt> [Accessed 16 September 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Prince Aribert Of Anhalt. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Aribert_of_Anhalt> [Accessed 16 September 2020].
  • Findagrave.com. 2020. Aribert Joseph Alexander Von Anhalt (1866-1933) -…. [online] Available at: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/209620112/aribert-joseph_alexander-von_anhalt> [Accessed 16 September 2020].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2015. Princess Marie Louise Of Schleswig-Holstein. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-marie-louise-of-schleswig-holstein/> [Accessed 16 September 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1900. Royal Couple Separated. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/11/14/102621268.pdf> [Accessed 16 September 2020].

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck; Credit – Wikipedia

Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, the lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover (the wife of the future King George I of Great Britain and the mother of King George II of Great Britain) disappeared from the Leineschloss in the Electorate of Hanover, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, and was never seen again. Born on March 4, 1665, in Stade, then part of the Swedish province of Bremen-Verden-Wildeshausen, now in Lower Saxony, Germany, Philip Christoph was the second of the two sons and the youngest of the four children of Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck and Maria Christina von Wrangel. Despite their German name and coming from an old Brandenburg noble family, the family considered themselves Swedish.

Philip Christoph had three siblings:

Philip Christoph’s father Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck was a Major General in the Swedish Army and served as Deputy Governor of the Swedish possessions in Germany. In 1671, he left the Swedish Army to serve in the army of Willem III, Prince of Orange (the future King William III of England), participating in the Dutch campaign against the French. On October 10, 1673, when Philip Christoph was eight years old, his father was killed at the age of 39 at the Siege of Bonn by friendly fire from an accidental cannon shot.

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck at an early age; Credit – Wikipedia

During his childhood, Philip Christoph served as a page at the court of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Celle. Celle was a small principality, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. There he became friends with Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Georg Wilhelm’s only child, who was a year younger than Philip Christoph. At the age of 16, Sophia Dorothea married her first cousin, 22-year-old Georg Ludwig, Electoral Prince of Hanover and Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the eldest son of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of the Palatinate, commonly referred to as Electress Sophia of Hanover. Electress Sophia of Hanover’s mother was Elizabeth Stuart, the second child and eldest daughter of King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England. It was through this descent and the exclusion of Catholics from the British throne, that Sophia Dorothea’s husband Georg Ludwig became King George I of Great Britain when Queen Anne, the last ruler of the House of Stuart, died. However, Sophia Dorothea of Celle was never Queen of Great Britain but she is an ancestor of the British Royal family (and other European royal families) through her son King George II of Great Britain.

After spending some time wandering through Europe, Philip Christoph found himself a wealthy man as the heir of his uncle and elder brother who had both died in battle. In 1688, Philip Christoph went to Hanover where he entered into the service of Sophia Dorothea’s father-in-law Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He participated in a campaign against France and became colonel of Ernst August’s bodyguard. Philip Christoph was regularly present at social events at the court of Hanover.

Sophia Dorothea, Electoral Princess of Hanover in 1686; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage of Sophia Dorothea and Georg Ludwig (called George hereafter) was happy at first, but soon both George and Sophia Dorothea found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg, and Sophia Dorothea fell in love with her childhood friend Philip Christoph von Königsmarck. Their affair started around March 1692. Despite warnings, from her mother and friends, Sophia Dorothea and Philip Christoph wrote letters to each other, met secretly, and planned to escape Hanover together. In 1694, Countess Clara Elisabeth von Platen, the mistress of Ernst August, Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, tried to marry her daughter to Philip Christoph Königsmark but he declined. Because of this insult by Königsmark, Clara Elisabeth revealed his affair with Sophia Dorothea to Elector Ernst August.

On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, 29-year-old Philip Christoph von Königsmarck disappeared from the Leineschloss in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed he was secretly murdered that same day. Officially, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck is still a missing person. His disappearance became a state affair and news of his disappearance spread throughout the royal courts of Europe and the general public. Bones were found at Leineschloss Castle during a 2016 renovation project, however, tests proved that some of the bones were from animals and the human bones came from at least five different skeletons. None of the remains have been proven to belong to Philip Christoph von Königsmarck.

Sophia Dorothea with her two children; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 28, 1694, a tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Sophia Dorothea had been moved to the Castle of Ahlden in her father’s Principality of Celle. She did not know that Königsmarck had disappeared and hoped to be reunited with him. Finally, Sophia Dorothea was told about the terms of the marriage dissolution. Because she was considered the guilty party, she was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her two children (the 11-year-old future King George II of Great Britain and the 7-year-old future Queen Sophia Dorothea in Prussia, wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia), and would be kept as a prisoner at the Castle of Ahlden for the remainder of her life. The Castle of Ahlden had a guard unit of 40 soldiers with five to ten soldiers guarding the castle around the clock. Sophia Dorothea had a household consisting of two maids of honor, several maids, and other staff for the household and kitchen, who were all chosen for their loyalty to Hanover.

Castle of Ahlden; Credit – Wikipedia

Although Sophia Dorothea spent 32 years in captivity, she received an income that allowed her to live in the style of a princess and she was able to go for drives in her coach with an escort. Her father refused to visit her, but her mother did make visits, and unsuccessfully tried to obtain her release by asking Queen Anne of Great Britain for help. Sophia Dorothea apparently drowned her sorrows in the pleasure of eating, and became quite obese, increasingly suffering from fevers and indigestion. She suffered a stroke in August 1726 and never again left her bed. Sophia Dorothea refused medical attention and food, and died on November 13, 1726, at the age of 60. Her former husband, now King George I of Great Britain, would not allow mourning at the British court and was furious when he learned that his daughter had ordered court mourning in Prussia.

Because the guards at the Castle of Ahlden had no funeral or burial instructions, Sophia Dorothea’s remains were placed in a lead coffin and stored in the castle cellar. In January 1727, orders came from London to bury the remains without any ceremony in the cemetery of Ahlden. However, this was impossible because of weeks of heavy rains and the coffin remained in the castle cellar. Finally, in May 1727, Sophia Dorothea was buried in the middle of the night beside her parents at the Stadtkirche St. Marien (link in German) in Celle. Her former husband King George I died four weeks later after receiving a deathbed letter from Sophia Dorothea cursing him, and their son acceded to the British throne as King George II.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Kurt Christoph Von Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Christoph_von_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philipp Christoph Von Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_Christoph_von_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philip Christoph Von Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Christoph_von_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. Sophia Dorothea Of Celle, Electoral Princess Of Hanover. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/sophia-dorothea-of-celle-electoral-princess-of-hanover/> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2020. Philip Christoph Königsmarck. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Christoph_K%C3%B6nigsmarck> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
  • Van der Kiste, John, 2013. The Georgian Princesses. New York: History Press.