Leopold II, Prince of Lippe

Leopold II of Lippe (Paul Alexander Leopold; 6 November 1796 – 1 January 1851) was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe. He succeeded to the throne in 1802, and in 1820 he assumed control of the government from his mother, who had been acting as regent due to his youth at accession.

Leopold II
Prince of Lippe
Reign5 November 1802 – 1 January 1851
PredecessorLeopold I
SuccessorLeopold III
Born(1796-11-06)6 November 1796
Detmold
Died1 January 1851(1851-01-01) (aged 54)
Detmold
Spouse
Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
​
​
(m. 1820)​
IssueLeopold III, Prince of Lippe
Princess Luise
Woldemar, Prince of Lippe
Princess Friederike
Prince Friedrich
Prince Hermann
Alexander, Prince of Lippe
Prince Karl
Princess Pauline
HouseLippe
FatherLeopold I, Prince of Lippe
MotherPauline of Anhalt-Bernburg

Biography

Leopold II was born in Detmold, the eldest child of Leopold I, the reigning prince of Lippe and his consort Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg (1769–1820). He succeeded as Prince of Lippe on his father's death on 5 November 1802. As he was just six years old, his mother Princess Pauline acted as regent until 3 July 1820, when he assumed control of the government.[1] During the regency, his mother had introduced a constitution in 1819 which created an assembly which at the time had more executive powers than any other assembly in Germany.[2]

In 1825 he constructed a Court Theatre. Among those to perform at the theatre were Albert Lortzing and Ludwig Devrient who were employed there from 1826 to 1833.[3]

In the last years of his reign the revolutions of 1848 broke out across all of Germany. Following his death in Detmold he was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son Leopold III.[4]

Marriage and children

Prince Leopold was married in Arnstadt on 23 April 1820 to Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1800–1867). They had nine children:

  • Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821–1875), married to princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1833–1896) on 17 April 1852.
  • Princess Luise of Lippe (1822–1887)
  • Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (1824–1895), married to princess Sophie of Baden (7 August 1834 – 6 April 1904) on 9 November 1858.
  • Princess Friederike of Lippe (1825–1897)
  • Prince Friedrich of Lippe (1827–1854)
  • Prince Hermann of Lippe (1829–1884)
  • Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831–1905)
  • Prince Karl of Lippe (1832–1834)
  • Princess Pauline of Lippe (1834–1906)

Ancestry

References
  1. Almanach de Gotha (87th ed.). Justus Perthes. 1850. p. 38.
  2. Knight, Charles (1839). Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. p. 37.
  3. Gadberry, Glen W (1995). Theatre in the Third Reich, the Prewar Years: Essays on Theatre in Nazi Germany. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 33, 34. ISBN 0-313-29516-6.
  4. "The Gentleman's Magazine". 1851. p. 335.
Leopold II, Prince of Lippe
Born: 6 November 1796 Died: 1 January 1851
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Leopold I		 Prince of Lippe
1802–1851		 Succeeded by
Leopold III
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.