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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].

Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount, Mistress of Henry VIII, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

The only mistress of King Henry VIII of England who had a child acknowledged by him, Elizabeth Blount, also known as Bessie Blount, was born circa 1498 at Kinlet Hall in Kinlet, Shropshire, England. She was one of the eight children of Sir John Blount of Kinlet Hall (circa 1471 – 1531) and his wife Katherine Peshall. Elizabeth’s siblings were George, William, Henry, Anne, Rose, Isabel, and Albora but their birth order is unknown. Little is known about Elizabeth’s childhood but she was probably educated by her mother and other female members of the household.

Effigies of Elizabeth’s parents on their tomb at St John the Baptist Church in Kinlet, Shropshire, England; Credit – By Mike Searle, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80988191

Elizabeth’s family had close connections with the Tudor family. Elizabeth’s maternal grandfather fought on the side of Henry Tudor (the future King Henry VII and the father of Henry VIII) at the Battle of Bosworth Field where King Richard III of the House of York was defeated and killed. Elizabeth’s great-grandfather Sir Richard Croft was the steward of the household of Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King Henry VII, at Ludlow Castle, and one of Arthur’s most important advisors. Elizabeth’s uncle, Sir Humphrey Blount, was a Knight of the Body (personal attendant) to King Henry VIII. Elizabeth’s father was one of Henry VIII’s King’s Spears at the time of his coronation. The King’s Spears were fifty men of noble birth who served as mounted bodyguards for King Henry VIII. It is most likely through her father’s influence that Elizabeth found a place at court.

Henry VIII, circa 1520; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1513, Elizabeth, around 15-years-old, came to Henry VIII’s court as a maid-of-honor to his first wife Catherine of Aragon and she quickly became one of the court’s beauties. She could sing and dance well and became a favorite of Henry VIII’s courtiers. In October 1514, she was mentioned in a letter to Henry VIII from his good friend and brother-in-law Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The letter infers that Henry and Brandon were partners in “flirtations” with Elizabeth and so it is probable that she became Henry’s mistress in 1514 or 1515. Their affair lasted for about five years.

On June 15, 1519, Elizabeth gave birth to Henry VIII’s child, a son named Henry Fitzroy, with FitzRoy, a Norman-French surname meaning “son of the king”. FitzRoy had been conceived when Catherine of Aragon was approaching what would be her last confinement and resulted in a stillborn daughter in November 1518. To avoid scandal, Elizabeth was taken to the Augustinian Priory of St. Lawrence in Blackmore, Essex, England for her confinement.

Fitzroy’s birth came at a crucial time in his father’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon as a few months before Catherine had given birth to the last of her six children, a stillborn daughter. The future Mary I, Queen of England, born in 1516, was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Fitzroy’s birth proved to Henry that he could father a healthy male child and convinced him that Catherine was at fault for the lack of male heirs.  There was talk in the early 1530s that Henry VIII, who then had no male heir, would legitimize Fitzroy so he could succeed his father.

A miniature of Elizabeth and Henry VIII’s son, Henry Fitzroy, at the age of 15; Credit – Wikipedia

Fitzroy is thought to have been cared for in the royal nursery with his half-sister Mary. He was given his own London residence in 1525, the same year he was created the Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Fitzroy was also given numerous titles such as Lord High Admiral of England, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Lord President of the Council.

Henry VIII likely asked Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to arrange a marriage for Elizabeth, and sometime before June 1522, Elizabeth married Gilbert Tailboys. Elizabeth’s second child, a daughter named Elizabeth, had been born sometime between July 1519 and June 1520, before she married Gilbert. This child’s father possibly was Henry VIII. However, Gilbert Tailboys recognized little Elizabeth as his child, and therefore, biological or not, she was considered to be Gilbert’s by the law.

After Gilbert’s marriage to Elizabeth, his financial situation dramatically changed. Gilbert was given grants of land in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, and Yorkshire. Over the next several years, he was a gentleman of the king’s bedchamber, High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, a member of Parliament for Lincolnshire, and was created 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme. Elizabeth’s marriage to Gilbert lasted until April 15, 1530, when he died, aged 33. All of Gilbert’s children succeeded to his title but as none of them had any children, the title became extinct upon the death of his daughter Elizabeth.

Elizabeth and Gilbert had one daughter and two sons:

Elizabeth’s second husband Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly after her first husband’s death, Elizabeth married Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton, who was fourteen years younger than Elizabeth and owned land that adjoined Elizabeth’s land. Edward was in the service of Henry VIII and his three children during their reigns and was created 1st Earl of Lincoln in 1572.

Elizabeth and Edward had three daughters:

  • Lady Bridget Clinton (circa 1536 – ?), married Robert Dymoke of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, had ten children
  • Lady Katherine Clinton (circa 1538 – 1621), married William Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh of Gainsborough, had two children
  • Lady Margaret Clinton (circa 1539 – ?), married Charles Willoughby, 2nd Baron Willoughby of Parham, had five children.

In 1533, Elizabeth’s son Henry Fitzroy married Lady Mary Howard, a daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, the uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of Henry VIII’s wives. Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn arranged the marriage. Fitzroy died on July 23, 1536, at the age of seventeen, likely of tuberculosis. He was buried at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, the burial site of the Howard family.

Elizabeth outlived her eldest son by three or four years. Very little is known of her life after the death of her son but it appears that Elizabeth died in childbirth, or shortly after giving birth, sometime between February 6, 1539 and January 2, 1540, at the age of only forty or forty-one. Her burial site burial is unknown.

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

  • Bryson, Sarah, 2016. Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount By Sarah Bryson – The Tudor Society. [online] The Tudor Society. Available at: <https://www.tudorsociety.com/elizabeth-bessie-blount-by-sarah-bryson/> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Elizabeth Blount. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blount> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Henry Fitzroy, Duke Of Richmond And Somerset. [online] Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_FitzRoy,_1st_Duke_of_Richmond_and_Somerset> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • Erickson, Carolly, 2004. Great Harry. London: Robson.
  • McMahon, Emily, 2013. Henry Fitzroy, Duke Of Richmond And Somerset. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-15-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • Weir, Alison, 2001. Henry VIII – The King And His Court. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Weir, Alison, 2012. The Six Wives Of Henry VIII. [United States]: Paw Prints.

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 Woldemar’s successor and brother Alexander died, causing 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.

Woldemar’s eight siblings:

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 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, when he died 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 and gave him 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 Alexander suffered from mental illness. He had been declared incapacitated since 1871 and 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 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, 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].

Jane Shore, Mistress of Edward IV, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Unknown woman engraved as Jane Shore by Francesco Bartolozzi, published by Edward Harding, after Silvester (Sylvester) Harding, stipple engraving, published 1 May 1790 NPG D24103 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Edward IV, King of England had numerous mistresses but the most famous was Jane Shore. Born in London, England circa 1445 as Elizabeth Lambert, she was the daughter of John Lambert, a wealthy merchant, and his wife Amy Marshall. Some sources say she later took the name Jane for unknown reasons. Other sources say she was never called Jane during her lifetime and that the name was an invention of Thomas Heywood, 17th-century playwright and author because her real first name was omitted and then forgotten by authors. Regardless of the truth, she has come to be known as Jane Shore, Shore being her married name. Sir Thomas More, lawyer, social philosopher, author, and statesman, wrote about Jane in his History of Richard III. According to More, Jane had been fair of body though not tall. She was attractive to men more through her personality than her physical beauty, being intelligent, literate, merry, and playful.

As a young girl, Jane attracted many admirers, both for her beauty and intellect. Jane married William Shore (died 1494), a goldsmith and banker, who had been a frequent visitor to Jane’s home. Shore was fifteen years older than Jane, and although he was handsome and successful in business, he never could fully claim Jane’s affections. In 1476,  Jane received an annulment of her marriage due to Shore’s impotence which had prevented the couple from having children.

King Edward IV, the first monarch of the House of York, by Unknown English artist, oil on panel, circa 1540, NPG 3542 © National Portrait Gallery, London

According to the Patent Rolls for December 4, 1476, Jane and King Edward IV began their relationship in 1476. Edward was particularly devoted to Jane and Jane had a great influence on Edward. Jane did not use her relationship with the king for her personal gain and official documents show that Edward IV  did not bestow gifts upon her. In his History of Richard III, Sir Thomas More wrote of Jane, “Where the king took displeasure, she would mitigate and appease his mind; where men were out of favour, she would bring them in his grace; for many that highly offended, she obtained pardon.” Their relationship lasted until King Edward IV’s early death on April 9, 1483, a few weeks before his 41st birthday. His cause of death is not known for certain. Pneumonia, typhoid fever, malaria, poison, and an unhealthy lifestyle are some possibilities.

It appears that Jane was also the mistress of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, a close friend of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain, and Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV, and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby.

Richard III, King of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Jane played a role in creating an alliance between William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings and Elizabeth Woodville’s family during the time Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future King Richard III), King Edward IV’s brother, served as Lord Protector of his young nephew King Edward V, the son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. The Duke of Gloucester moved to keep the Woodville family from exercising any power. Jane Shore was accused of carrying messages between Hastings and Edward IV’s widow Elizabeth Woodville. It was because of her role in this alliance that Jane was charged with conspiracy, along with Hastings and the Woodvilles, against the Lord Protector’s government. William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings eventually lost his head as did Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, Elizabeth Woodville’s brother, and Sir Richard Grey, Elizabeth Woodville’s son from her first marriage.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester had his young nephews, King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, taken to the Tower of London, declared illegitimate, and then, he succeeded to the throne as King Richard III. At the end of the summer of 1483, the two boys, known as The Princes in the Tower, disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown and remains one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Jane’s punishment for her conspiracy included a public penance at Paul’s Cross, a preaching cross and open-air pulpit on the grounds of Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. Jane proceeded through the streets of London with a candle in her hand, dressed only in her kirtle, a one-piece undergarment similar to a slip, attracting a lot of male attention along the way. Jane’s public penance is widely believed to be the inspiration behind Queen Cersei’s walk of atonement in the novel series and television series Game of Thrones.

The Penance of Jane Shore in St Paul’s Church, c.1793 by William Blake; Credit – Wikipedia

After her public penance, Jane was sent to Ludgate Prison in London, England. While at Ludgate Prison, Jane captivated Thomas Lynom, Solicitor-General of England. Lynom decided to marry, Jane believing that he would be able to free her from prison and Richard III did pardon Jane at the request of Lynom. The two married and had a daughter. In August 1485, when Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and succeeded to the throne as King Henry VII, Lynom lost his position as Solicitor-General of England. However, under King Henry VII, Lynom served on the Council of Wales and the Marches and was the controller of the household of Henry VII’s eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales at Ludlow Castle.

Church of St. Nicholas in Hinxworth, Hertfordshire, England; Credit – By Rodney Burton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9165187

Jane and Thomas Lynom lived the rest of their lives in comfort and Jane even became friends with Sir Thomas More who admired her wit.  Jane died, aged around 82, in 1527, during the reign of King Henry VIII. She was buried in the churchyard at the Church of St. Nicholas in Hinxworth, Hertfordshire, England.

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

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Jane Shore. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Shore> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward IV Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iv-of-england/> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Шор, Джейн. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%BE%D1%80,_%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
  • Sparkes, Abagail, n.d. Jane Shore – Historic UK. [online] Historic UK. Available at: <https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Jane-Shore/> [Accessed 24 July 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].

Alice Perrers, Mistress of Edward III, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Detail of Ford Madox Brown’s painting depicting Alice Perrers and King Edward III (see full painting below); Credit – Wikipedia

Alice Perrers is the most famous English royal mistress between King Henry II’s Rosamund de Clifford and King Edward IV’s Jane Shore. Biographical information about Alice Perrers is sketchy but recent research by historians Mark Ormrod and Laura Tompkins has revealed new details about her early life.

Alice Perrers was born around 1340 in London, England. Her family’s surname was Salisbury and they worked as goldsmiths. Janyn Perrers, who would become Alice’s first husband, became an apprentice to the Salisbury family in 1342. Goldsmiths would have been somewhat well-to-do and Alice most likely received an education at home and attended a local girls school.

Janyn Perrers eventually became a full member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths of London. It appears that around 1359, he did some work for the royal court because in a royal writ he is described as “our beloved Janyn Perrers, our jeweler”. There is a possibility that he met King Edward III in his capacity as a goldsmith and jeweler and that Alice may have accompanied him. Around this same time, Alice and Janyn were married. The research shows that Janyn Perrers died sometime between May 19, 1361 and May 18, 1362.

Coronation of Philippa of Hainault; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly after her husband’s death, Alice became a lady-in-waiting to Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III. Even if Alice had not previously met Edward III, they certainly became acquainted while she served as a lady-in-waiting. Alice, who was about 24-years-old, gave birth to the first of her three children by Edward III in 1364, when the king was 56-years old.

Alice and Edward III’s children:

Edward III’s relationship with Alice was kept mostly secret until the death of his wife in 1369. After Queen Philippa’s death, Edward III became increasingly dependent upon Alice. While the government was at Westminster Palace and his household was at Windsor Castle, Edward spent much of his time isolated at Havering Palace, Sheen Palace, and Eltham Palace. Alice became his chief advisor. She made sure she put in good words for her ambitious friends. Eventually, Alice and her relationship with the King of England caused much gossip at Westminster and Windsor.

Alice acquired numerous gifts from Edward III, including some of Queen Philippa’s jewelry, and she soon became an extremely wealthy woman. Her fortune was worth more than £20,000, equal to £6,000,000 in today’s money. On Edward’s command, Alice dressed in golden garments and was paraded around London as “The Lady of the Sun”. Courtiers were expected to behave respectfully toward her. This caused great criticism from those at court and eventually from the public. Alice was seen as an ambitious, grasping, calculating, and cold-hearted opportunist who manipulated the elderly, aging King Edward III.

Although Alice had received gifts from the king, her financial success cannot be totally attributed to that. Perhaps it was from having a father and a husband who were successful goldsmiths, but Alice did possess business acumen and did have useful business connections through the court. At the height of her power, Alice controlled 56 manors and castles in England and only fifteen were royal gifts.

Worried about Edward III’s advancing age and that after his death she would no longer have his protection, in November 1375, Alice made a secret marriage to Sir William Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor who was 26 years older than Alice. Because William was the Royal Lieutenant in Ireland, he was often away and this lessened the chance that Edward III would find out about the secret marriage. William and Alice had no children and remained married until William died in 1384.

King Edward III and his eldest son Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Because the English court was perceived by much of the English population to be corrupt, the English Parliament met from April 28 to July 10, 1376, in an effort to reform the Royal Council. The Good Parliament was the name history has assigned to this meeting. Meanwhile, King Edward III’s eldest son and heir, Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, was dying. He summoned to his bedside, his father King Edward III and John of Gaunt, Edward III’s third but second surviving son, and made them swear to recognize his nine-year-old son, the future King Richard II, as Edward III’s successor. Both Edward III and John of Gaunt swore to recognize Richard, and soon after Parliament summoned Richard and acknowledged him as heir to the throne. Edward the Black Prince died on June 8, 1376.

As a result of the Good Parliament’s actions, Richard Lyons, Warden of the Mint, and William Latimer, 4th Baron Latimer, Chamberlain of the Household, who were believed to be robbing the treasury, were called before Parliament, impeached, and then imprisoned. Also, King Edward III’s mistress, Alice Perrers, was called to Parliament where she was tried for corruption, banished from England, and her lands were forfeited. Parliament then imposed a new set of councilors on King Edward III. However, by the autumn of 1376, John of Gaunt was working on undoing the Good Parliament’s work. He dismissed the new council and recalled Lyons and Latimer to the Royal Council and Alice Perrers was recalled to court and regained some of her lands.

King Edward III suffered a stroke in May 1377. He died at Sheen Palace in Richmond, England on June 21, 1377, at the age of 64 with his mistress Alice Perrers at his side.

Geoffrey Chaucer reading  at the court of Edward III by Ford Madox Brown, painted 1847–1851;  Alice and Edward III are in the upper right; Credit – Wikipedia

Alice had a great influence on the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and supported him financially. She is thought to be the model for the Wife of Bath in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Alice Perrers died in Gaynes Park, Upminster, England during the winter of 1400/1401 at around the age of 60. She was buried in either the church or the churchyard of the Church of St Laurence, Upminster but there is no memorial to mark her grave. Her property was left to her surviving children, her daughters Jane and Joan.

Church of St Laurence, Upminster; Credit – Wikipedia

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

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Alice Perrers. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Perrers> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Edward III Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iii-of-england/> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Alice Perrers. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Perrers> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Medievalists.net. 2016. Alice Perrers – The Story Of A King’s Mistress. [online] Available at: <https://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/the-medieval-magazine-no51.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Mortimer, Ian, 2014. Edward III: The Perfect King. New York: Rosetta Books LLC.

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kuwait is located in western Asia on the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf. It shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Originally a sheikhdom ruled by local sheikhs, Kuwait became a British Protectorate in 1899. The sheikhs still had power during the British Protectorate. Kuwait was granted independence in 1961 and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, 11th Ruler of Kuwait became the first Emir of Kuwait. The rulers of Kuwait belong to the House of Al-Sabah.

The Emir of Kuwait is nominated by a family council headed by prominent members of the family. The Crown Prince of Kuwait is also nominated by the family council and must be a senior member of the House of Al-Sabah. Both the Emir and the Crown Prince must be approved by the Kuwaiti parliament.

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait; Credit – Wikipedia

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait was born on September 27, 1940 in Kuwait. He is the son of Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 10th Ruler of Kuwait from 1944 – 1950, and Maryam Marit Al-Huwaila. Mishal’s father had ten wives and 24 children.

Mishal has two full sisters: Sheikha Mashael Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. His prominent half-siblings include:

Mishal grew up at Dasman Palace in Kuwait City with the sons and grandsons of his father. He was educated at the Al Mubarakiyya School which was established in 1911 as one of Kuwait’s first modern educational institutions. Afterward, he attended the Kuwait Police College in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and then the Hendon Police College in London, England, the principal training center for London’s Metropolitan Police Service, graduating in 1960.

Mishal married twice and has twelve children, five sons and seven daughters:

Wife 1: Sheikha Nuria bint Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, daughter of Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, 12th Ruler of Kuwait and 2nd Emir of the State of Kuwait and Munira Fahd Al-Adwani, had six daughters and one son:

  • Sheikha Mahasi bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Makarem bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Fiten bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Shekha bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Hala bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Nouf bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Ahmed bin Mishal Al-Sabah

Wife 2: Munira Badah Al-Mutairi, had four sons and one daughter:

  • Sheikh Talal bin Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Bibi bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Fahd bin Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Jaber bin Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Ali bin Mishal Al-Sabah

Throughout his governmental career, Mishal had stayed out of the political scene and away from disputes within the royal family. He held the following government positions:

  • Head of State Security (1967 – 1980)
  • Ministry of Interior (1980 – 2004)
  • Deputy Chief of the National Guard with the rank of Minister (2004 – 2020)
Embed from Getty Images
Kuwait’s National Assembly as Mishal takes the oath as Crown Prince

After the death of Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 15th Ruler and 5th Emir of Kuwait on September 29, 2020, his successor Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait nominated his half-brother Mishal as Crown Prince of Kuwait on October 7, 2020. The next day, Kuwait’s National Assembly unanimously approved Mishal as the Crown Prince. He then took the constitutional oath of office and pledged his commitment to democracy and peace. Mishal was 80-years-old and the oldest Crown Prince in the world at that time.

Upon the death of his half-brother Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait on November 16, 2023, Mishal succeeded as Emir of Kuwait.

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

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. مشعل الأحمد الجابر الصباح. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%84_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AD> [Accessed 11 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishal_Al-Ahmad_Al-Jaber_Al-Sabah> [Accessed 11 October 2020].
  • Royalark.net. 2020. Genealogy Of Kuwait – Al-Sabah Dynasty. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalark.net/Kuwait/kuwait14.htm> [Accessed 11 October 2020].