Category Archives: Schaumburg-Lippe Royals

Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont,  abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

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Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe was the wife of Friedrich, the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Bathildis Marie Leopoldine Anna Auguste was born on May 21, 1873, in Ratibořice, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. She was the sixth of the eight children and the second of the four daughters of Prince Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. Bathildis’ paternal grandparents were Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her maternal grandparents were Prince Friedrich August of Anhalt-Dessau and Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel.

Bathildis had seven siblings:

Náchod Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

Bathildis’ family spent much time in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. In 1839, her grandfather Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe bought the town of Náchod, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia and Náchod Castle, and the Schaumburg-Lippe family held the town and castle until 1945.

Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 9, 1895, at Náchod Castle, 22-year-old Bathildis married 30-year-old Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Bathildis and Friedrich had four children:

During World War I, Bathildis’ husband Friedrich served as a Cavalry General in the Imperial German Army. After the defeat of the German Empire in World War I and the end of all the German monarchies, Friedrich abdicated on November 13, 1918. However, he was the only German prince who refused to sign an abdication agreement. Philipp Scheidemann, the Social Democratic Mayor of Kassel, jokingly called him “Friedrich the Defiant” because of his resistance. Friedrich negotiated an agreement with the new government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and the Arolsen Forest.

Bathildis’ eldest son Josias; Credit – Wikipedia

Both Bathildis and her husband Friedrich lived through World War II. While neither joined the Nazi Party, their eldest son Josias, his wife Altburg, and their eldest child Margarethe were members of the Nazi Party. Josias joined the Nazi Party in 1929 and by 1930, he was a member of the Schutzstaffel, better known as the SS. The SS was the primary agency of security, surveillance, and terror in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. In September 1930, Josias become the Adjutant and Staff Chief of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, and the main architect of the Holocaust. Josias rose through the ranks of the SS, eventually attaining the rank of General of the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS. Members of the Waffen-SS were involved in numerous atrocities. At the Nuremberg Trials (1945 – 1946), the Waffen-SS was judged to be a criminal organization because of its direct involvement in numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On April 13, 1945, Josias was taken prisoner by American forces. For a period of time, Josias had supervisory authority over the Buchenwald concentration camp. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes in connection to the Buchenwald concentration camp by an American court in Dachau, Germany during the Buchenwald Trial on August 14, 1947. In 1948, Josias’ sentence was reduced to twenty years. He was released early from the Landsberg War Crimes Prison for health reasons in 1950.

Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Bathildis’ husband Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, died on May 26, 1946, at the age of 81 in Arolsen, Germany. His son Josias became Head of the House of Waldeck-Pyrmont while in custody. Bathildis survived her husband by sixteen years, dying on April 6, 1962, aged 88, in Arolsen, West Germany, now in Germany. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, now in the German state of Hesse.

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. 2023. Bathildis zu Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathildis_zu_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 3 November 2023].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2023. Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_William_of_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 3 November 2023].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2023. Josias, Hereditary Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josias,_Hereditary_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 3 November 2023].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2023. Princess Bathildis Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Bathildis_of_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 3 November 2023].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-prince-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 3 November 2023].
  • Petropoulos, Jonathan, 2009. Royals And The Reich. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Ellen Bischoff-Korthaus, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Ellen Bischoff-Korthaus, Princess 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 Schaumburg-Lippe was raised to a Principality and Georg Wilhelm, Count of Schaumberg 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 territory that encompassed the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe is in the German state of Lower Saxony.

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Born Elisabeth Franziska von Bischoff-Korthaus on November 6, 1894, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, and known as Ellen Bischoff-Korthaus, she was the wife of Adolf II, the last reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe.

Ellen was an actress under the stage name Ellen Korth. She had roles in two silent films in 1918: Othello, a play by William Shakespeare, directed by Max Mack, playing Desdemona, Othello’s wife, with renowned German actors Wilhelm Diegelmann, Julius Falkenstein, Max Gülstorff and Rosa Valetti, and Wanderratten (link in German) also directed by Max Mack and also with Wilhelm Diegelmann, Max Gülstorff and Rosa Valetti, and Rudolf Lettinger. After the films, Ellen concentrated on her stage career.

Adolf was not the first prince Ellen married. On August 24, 1918, she married Prince Eberwyn of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1882 – 1949), son of Alexis, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt, and Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Ellen was the second of Prince Eberwyn’s three wives. The couple divorced on December 13, 1919.

Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 10, 1920, in Berlin, Germany, 25-year-old Ellen married 37-year-old Adolf II, the last reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, the son of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg. Upon his father’s death on April 29, 1911, Adolf became the reigning Prince of Schaumberg-Lippe. After the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, Adolf II was forced to abdicate on November 15, 1918, and the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe became the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe, and later part of Germany. Adolf was exiled from the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe and lived mostly in the Brionian Islands, then Italy, now in Croatia. After her marriage, Ellen used the title Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe. In 1919, Germany abolished noble and royal titles and the privileges that the titles endowed but titles were allowed as part of surnames. The marriage of Ellen and Adolf was childless.

While living in Italy, Ellen and Adolf were investigated by the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei, Secret State Police) beginning in June 1934. They were later denounced by Kurt von Behr, head of the Nazi Party in Italy.

On March 26, 1936, Adolf, aged 53, and Ellen, aged 42, were killed in an airplane crash in Zumpango, Mexico, along with eight other passengers from Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and four crew members. Their plane developed engine trouble and crashed between the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl as they were flying from Mexico City, Mexico to Guatemala City, Guatemala. The plane had been chartered by Hamburg-American Line which brought the Europeans to Mexico on a tour. It was the worst Mexican plane crash at that time.

Bückeburg Mausoleum; Credit – Von Corradox – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7328133

The bodies of Adolf and Ellen were recovered and returned to Germany thanks to the intervention of Adolf’s youngest brother Friedrich Christian who was aide-de-camp to Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Friedrich Christian joined the Nazi Party in 1928, one of the first German princes to do so. He never distanced himself from the Nazi ideology and championed it until the end of his life. Initially, Friedrich Christian was against the idea of burying Ellen’s remains in the Bückeburg Mausoleum because he thought that she was not of Aryan origin. When Friedrich Christian was proven wrong, Ellen was buried with Adolf at the Bückeburg Mausoleum (link in German) on the grounds of Bückeburg Castle

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/adolf-ii-prince-of-schaumburg-lippe/ (Accessed: 01 September 2023).
  • IMDb (no date) Ellen Korth | actress, IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0466765/ (Accessed: 01 September 2023).
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1936. 14 Die In Worst Mexican Air Crash; Three Titled Germans Among Dead; Plane Carrying Ten Tourists From Europe And Four In Crew Falls Between Two Volcanoes, Killing All — Prince And Princess Adolf Of Schaumburg-Lippe Lose Lives. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/03/27/87926235.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 1 September 2023].
  • Staedeli, Thomas. (no date) Portrait of the actress Ellen Korth by Thomas Staedeli. Available at: https://www.cyranos.ch/smkore-e.htm (Accessed: 01 September 2023).

Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

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 II 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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Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, Princess of Schaumberg-Lippe, circa 1885; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg was the wife of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Born on March 14, 1864, in Altenburg, then in the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia, Marie Anna was the eldest of the five children and the eldest of the four daughters of Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen. Her paternal grandparents were Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Duchess Marie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Marie Anna’s maternal grandparents were Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Princess Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel.

Maria Anna had four younger siblings:

Engagement photo of Georg and Marie Anna, 1882; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1882, in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia, 18-year-old Maria Anna married 36-year-old Georg, then Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Georg was the son of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont and had a career in the Prussian Army. After their marriage, the couple resided in the newly furnished Stadthagen Castle (link in German), the residence of the Hereditary Prince in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. Upon the death of his father on May 8, 1893, Maria Anna’s husband Georg became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. As Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Maria Anna supported churches and schools.

Stadthagen Castle, Georg and Marie Anna’s home before Georg became Prince of Schaumberg-Lippe; Credit – Von Beckstet – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9726977

Maria Anna and Georg had nine children:

  • Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1883–1936), married Ellen von Bischoff-Korthaus, no children, Adolf and his wife were killed in an airplane crash
  • Prince Moritz Georg of Schaumburg-Lippe (1884 – 1920), unmarried
  • Prince Peter of Schaumburg-Lippe (born and died 1886), died in infancy
  • Prince Wolrad of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1887 – 1962), married his second cousin Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, had three sons and one daughter
  • Prince Stephan of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1891 – 1965), married Duchess Ingeborg of Oldenburg, had one son and one daughter
  • Prince Heinrich of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1894 – 1952), married Countess Marie-Erika von Hardenberg, had one daughter
  • Princess Margareth of Schaumburg-Lippea (1896 – 1897), died in infancy
  • Prince Friedrich Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe (1906 – 1983), married (1) Countess Alexandra zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, had two daughters and one son (2) Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, no children (3) Helene Mayr, no children
  • Princess Elisabeth of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1908 – 1933), married (1) Benvenuto Hauptmann, no children, divorced (2) Baron Johann Herring von Frankensdorff, had one son and one daughter

In 1907, upon the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia presented Schaumburg Castle, the Schaumburg-Lippe ancestral home, in Rinteln, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, to Georg and Maria Anna. The castle had become the property of the Prussian royal family when the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe sided with the Austrians, the losers in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. The gift was also meant to be in recognition of Georg’s support of Prussia in the dispute over the succession to the Principality of Lippe throne. (See Unofficial Royalty: Alexander, Prince of Lippe for an explanation of the dispute over the succession to the Principality of Lippe throne.)

The Bückeburg Mausoleum. photo: By Corradox – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7328133

Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe died on April 29, 1911, aged 64, at Bückeburg Castle (link in German) in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. He was buried at the Bückeburg Mausoleum (link in German) in the park surrounding Bückeburg Castle. Georg’s son and successor Adolf II, the last reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, had the mausoleum built following his father’s death to replace the Princely Mausoleum at the St. Martini Church (link in German) in Stadthagen as the family burial site. Marie Anna survived her husband by seven years, dying in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, on May 3, 1918, at age 54. She was buried with her husband at the Bückeburg Mausoleum.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-prince-of-schaumburg-lippe/ (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Marie Anna von Sachsen-Altenburg (2022) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Anna_von_Sachsen-Altenburg (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Moritz von Sachsen-Altenburg (2022) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moritz_von_Sachsen-Altenburg (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Moritz_of_Saxe-Altenburg (Accessed: 31 August 2023).
  • Princess Marie Anne of Saxe-Altenburg (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_Anne_of_Saxe-Altenburg (Accessed: 31 August 2023).

Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess of Schaumberg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

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 Schaumburg-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 II 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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Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont was the wife of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Born in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, on September 29, 1827, Hermine was the third of the five children and the second of the two daughters of Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Her paternal grandparents were Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (Unofficial Royalty article coming soon). Hermine’s maternal grandparents were Viktor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym and Amalie of Nassau-Weilburg.

Princess Hermine, on the left, with her elder sister Princess Augusta; Credit – Wikipedia

Hermine had four siblings:

Hermine’s father died in 1845 when she was 18 years old. Her mother Emma served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until her 14-year-old son Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont reached his majority in 1852. Through her brother Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Hermine was the aunt of Princess Marie who married the future King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, Princess Emma who married King Willem III of the Netherlands, and Princess Helena who married Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac, youngest son.

Hermine with her husband Adolf; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 20, 1844, at Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, Hermine married her first cousin, the future Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, son of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Hermine and Adolf had eight children including two daughters named Emma who both died young:

Schaumburg Costume; Credit – Von © Michael Gäbler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42356047

On November 21, 1860, upon the death of his father Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, Hermine’s husband Adolf became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. While Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Hermine was a supporter of the Schaumburg Costume (link in German), the traditional form of clothing for Schaumburg women noted by a red skirt, usually worn at festivals.

After a reign of 33 years, Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe died at the age of 75, on May 8, 1893, 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 St. Martini Church (link in German) in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony.

Hermine as a widow; Credit – Wikipedia

Before he died in 1893, Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe arranged for the building of the Palais Bückeburg, (link in German) also known as the Hermine Palais, which would serve as Hermine’s home while Princess Dowager. An enthusiastic hunter, Hermine acquired a hunting ground in Steyrling, Austria and several years later acquired farms in the nearby towns of Höbach and Laberg. Along with spending time at her palace in Bückeburg, Hermine spent much time at her properties in and near Steyrling, Austria.

The Princely Mausoleum at the St. Martini Church in Stadthagen. photo: By losch – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17674154

Hermine survived her husband by seventeen years, dying on February 16, 1910, at the age of 82, at Bückeburg Castle, and was buried with her husband in the last place in the crypt in Princely Mausoleum at the St. Martini Church. After the death of Hermine’s son Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe in 1911, his son Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe had the Bückeburg Mausoleum (link in German) constructed between 1911-1915 in the park surrounding Bückeburg Castle.

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

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/adolf-i-prince-of-schaumburg-lippe/ (Accessed: 29 August 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Unofficial Royalty. Available at https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-ii-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/ (Accessed: 29 August 2023).
  • Hermine zu Waldeck und Pyrmont (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermine_zu_Waldeck_und_Pyrmont (Accessed: 29 August 2023).
  • Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Hermine_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont (Accessed: 29 August 2023).

Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

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 Schaumburg-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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Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont was the wife of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Ida Karoline Luise was born on September 26, 1796, in Rhoden, then in the County of Waldeck and Pyrmont, later in the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. She was the eighth of the thirteen children and the third of the five daughters of Georg I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Princess Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Ida’s paternal grandparents were Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Countess Palatine Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. Her maternal grandparents were Prince August of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Princess Christine of Anhalt-Bernburg.

Ida had twelve siblings. Seven of her siblings died either in childhood or in their early twenties.

  • Christiane of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1787 – 1806), Abbess of Schaaken, died at age 19
  • Karl of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1788 – 1795), died in childhood
  • Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1789 – 1845), married Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, had five children
  • Friedrich of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1790 – 1828), morganatically married Ursula Polle who was created Countess of Waldeck, had four children
  • Christian of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1792 – 1795), died in early childhood
  • Augusta of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1793 – 1794), died in infancy
  • Johann of Waldeck- Pyrmont (1794 – 1814), died at age 20
  • Wolrad of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1798 – 1821), died at age 23
  • Mathilde of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1801 – 1825), married Duke Eugen of Württemberg, had three children, died during her fourth pregnancy
  • Karl Christian of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1803 – 1846), married Amalie of Lippe-Biesterfeld, had one child
  • Karoline Christiane of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1804 – 1806), died in early childhood
    Hermann of Waldeck-Pyrmont (1809 – 1876), married Agnes Teleki de Szék, had no children

Ida’s husband Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

On June 23, 1816, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, 20-year-old Ida married 32-year-old Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe.

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

As the Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Ida was concerned with social issues, arranging food for the poor, providing debt relief, and other humanitarian initiatives. Ida regularly accepted petitions from the citizens of Schaumburg-Lippe and recommended worthy causes to her husband. At Ida’s request, Georg Wilhelm had two towers, the Wilhelmsturm (link in German) and the Idaturm (link in German), built in 1847, a year of high prices and famine, for land surveying and to create jobs for the starving population. The building material was sandstone that was mined from a local quarry.

Arensburg Castle; Credit – Von Castelargus – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41405367

The medieval Arensburg Castle (link in German) had become dilapidated and was used temporarily as a warehouse for grain and other goods. Under Ida’s influence, the castle was renovated and turned into a country estate. Bückeburg Castle (link in German), the ancestral seat of the House of Schaumburg-Lippe, had not been used very much for social events during recent past reigns. Ida changed that and among other social events, revived court balls at the castle. Ida was very interested in geology and regularly sent geological objects to the Imperial and Royal Geological Institute in Vienna, Austria.

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

Ida’s husband 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

Ida in the last years of her life; Credit – Wikipedia

After Georg Wilhelm’s death, Ida moved to the Old Princely Palace in Bückeburg. Beginning in the winter of 1868, she permanently stayed in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France, on the French Riviera. Ida survived her husband 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 where Ida and her husband are buried; 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.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, S. (2020) Georg I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-i-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/ (Accessed: 25 August 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/georg-wilhelm-prince-of-schaumburg-lippe/ (Accessed: 25 August 2023).
  • Ida zu Waldeck und Pyrmont (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_zu_Waldeck_und_Pyrmont (Accessed: 25 August 2023).
  • Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Ida_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont (Accessed: 25 August 2023).

Adolf II, 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 II 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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Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Adolf II (Adolf Bernhard) was the last reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. He was born on February 23, 1883, at Stadthagen Castle (link in German), the residence of the Hereditary Prince in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. At the time of his birth, his father was the Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Adolf was the eldest of the seven sons and the eldest of the nine children of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg.

Adolf had eight younger siblings:

  • Prince Moritz Georg of Schaumburg-Lippe (1884 – 1920), unmarried
  • Prince Peter of Schaumburg-Lippe (born and died 1886), died in infancy
  • Prince Wolrad of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1887 – 1962), married his second cousin Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, had three sons and one daughter, Wolrad was Head of the House of Schaumberg-Lippe from 1938 until his death
  • Prince Stephan of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1891 – 1965), married Duchess Ingeborg of Oldenburg, had one son and one daughter
  • Prince Heinrich of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1894 – 1952), married Countess Marie-Erika von Hardenberg, had one daughter
  • Princess Margareth of Schaumburg-Lippea (1896 – 1897), died in infancy
  • Prince Friedrich Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe (1906 – 1983), married (1) Countess Alexandra zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, had two daughters and one son (2) Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, no children (3) Helene Mayr, no children
  • Princess Elisabeth of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1908 – 1933), married (1) Benvenuto Hauptmann, no children, divorced (2) Baron Johann Herring von Frankensdorff, had one son and one daughter

Upon his father’s death on April 29, 1911, Adolf became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. During Adolf’s reign, the huge Bückeburg Mausoleum (link in German) was built between 1911 and 1915 on the Bückeburg Palace grounds to replace the Princely Mausoleum at the St. Martini Church in Stadthagen (links in German) as the family burial site. Adolf’s father was the first in the family to be buried there. After the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, Adolf II was forced to abdicate on November 15, 1918, and the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe became the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe. Adolf was exiled from the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe and lived in the Brionian Islands, then Italy, now in Croatia.

Ellen von Bischoff-Korthaus

On January 10, 1920, in Berlin, Germany, Adolf married actress Elisabeth Franziska (Ellen) von Bischoff-Korthaus. Ellen was born on November 6, 1894, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. The marriage was childless. Adolf was not the first prince Ellen married. On August 24, 1918, Ellen married Prince Eberwyn of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1882 – 1949), son of Prince Alexis of Bentheim and Steinfurt and Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont,  daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his first wife Princess Helena of Nassau. The couple was divorced on December 13, 1919.

While living in Italy, Adolf and Ellen were investigated by the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei, Secret State Police) beginning in June 1934. They were later denounced by Kurt von Behr, head of the Nazi Party in Italy.

On March 26, 1936, Adolf, aged 53, and his wife Ellen, aged 42, were killed in an airplane crash in Zumpango, Mexico, along with eight other passengers from Germany, Austria, and Hungary, and four crew members. Their plane developed engine trouble and crashed between the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl as they were flying from Mexico City, Mexico to Guatemala City, Guatemala. The plane had been chartered by Hamburg-American Line which brought the Europeans to Mexico on a tour. It was the worst Mexican plane crash at that time.

The bodies of Adolf and Ellen were recovered and returned to Germany thanks to the intervention of Adolf’s youngest brother Friedrich Christian who was aide-de-camp to Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Friedrich Christian joined the Nazi Party in 1928, one of the first German princes to do so. He never distanced himself from the Nazi ideology and championed it until the end of his life. Initially, Friedrich Christian was against the idea of burying Ellen’s remains in the Bückeburg Mausoleum because he thought that she was not of Aryan origin. When Friedrich Christian was proven wrong, Ellen was buried with Adolf at the Bückeburg Mausoleum (link in German) on the grounds of Bückeburg Castle. Wolrad, Adolf’s next surviving brother, who was also a member of the Nazi Party, succeeded him as Head of the House of Schaumburg-Lippe.

Bückeburg Mausoleum; Credit – Von Corradox – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7328133

Schaumburg-Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Adolf II. (Schaumburg-Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_II._(Schaumburg-Lippe)> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Adolf II, Prince Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_II,_Prince_of_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2020. Adolfo II Di Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_II_di_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2020. Adolfo II, Príncipe De Eschaumburgo-Lipa. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_II,_Pr%C3%ADncipe_de_Eschaumburgo-Lipa> [Accessed 21 October 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1936. 14 Die In Worst Mexican Air Crash; Three Titled Germans Among Dead; Plane Carrying Ten Tourists From Europe And Four In Crew Falls Between Two Volcanoes, Killing All — Prince And Princess Adolf Of Schaumburg-Lippe Lose Lives. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/03/27/87926235.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 21 October 2020].

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.

Georg, Prince of Schaumberg-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 Schaumburg-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 II 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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Credit – Wikipedia

On October 10, 1846, Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (Stephan Albrecht Georg) was born at Bückeburg Castle (link in German) in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. He was the eldest of the four sons and the second of the eight children of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont.

Georg had seven siblings but only five survived childhood:

  • Princess Hermine of Schaumburg-Lippe (1845 – 1930), married Duke Maximilian of Württemberg, no children
  • Prince Hermann of Schaumburg-Lippe (1848 – 1928), unmarried
  • Princess Emma of Schaumburg-Lippe (1850 – 1855), died in childhood
  • Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe (1852 – 1891), married Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz, had one son and five daughters
  • Prince Otto Heinrich of Schaumburg-Lippe (1854 – 1935), married morganatically Anna von Koppen, had two sons and one daughter
  • Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe (1859 – 1917), married Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, no children
  • Princess Emma of Schaumburg-Lippe (1865 – 1868), died in childhood

16-year-old Georg, Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

Georg had a career in the military. After his initial military training, he studied at the University of Göttingen. He then served as an officer of the Schaumburg-Lippe Jäger Battalion. In 1867, after Schaumburg-Lippe signed a military treaty with Prussia and entered into a military union, a Prussian battalion, the 7th Westphalian Jäger Battalion relocated to Bückeburg, the capital of the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe, and Georg transferred to the Prussian battalion with the rank of captain. Georg took part in the Franco-Prussian War (1870 – 1871). He later served in the 11th Hussar Regiment and the Life Guards Hussar Regiment (link in German) of the Prussian Army.

Engagement photo of Georg and Marie Anna, 1882; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 16, 1882, in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia, Georg married Princess Marie Anna of Saxe-Altenburg, who was eighteen years younger than him. Born on March 14, 1864, Marie Anna was the eldest child of Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen. Her paternal grandparents were Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Duchess Marie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and her maternal grandparents were Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Princess Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel.  After their marriage, the couple resided in the newly furnished Stadthagen Castle (link in German), the residence of the Hereditary Prince in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Stadthagen Castle, Georg and Marie Anna’s home before Georg became Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Von Beckstet – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9726977

Georg and Marie Anna had nine children:

  • Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1883–1936), married Ellen von Bischoff-Korthaus, no children
  • Prince Moritz Georg of Schaumburg-Lippe (1884 – 1920), unmarried
  • Prince Peter of Schaumburg-Lippe (born and died 1886), died in infancy
  • Prince Wolrad of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1887 – 1962), married his second cousin Princess Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, had three sons and one daughter
  • Prince Stephan of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1891 – 1965), married Duchess Ingeborg of Oldenburg, had one son and one daughter
  • Prince Heinrich of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1894 – 1952), married Countess Marie-Erika von Hardenberg, had one daughter
  • Princess Margareth of Schaumburg-Lippea (1896 – 1897), died in infancy
  • Prince Friedrich Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe (1906 – 1983), married (1) Countess Alexandra zu Castell-Rüdenhausen, had two daughters and one son (2) Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, no children (3) Helene Mayr, no children
  • Princess Elisabeth of Schaumburg-Lippe  (1908 – 1933), married (1) Benvenuto Hauptmann, no children, divorced (2) Baron Johann Herring von Frankensdorff, had one son and one daughter

Upon the death of his father on May 8, 1893, Georg became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. In 1907, upon the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia presented Schaumburg Castle, the Schaumburg-Lippe ancestral home, in Rinteln, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, to Georg and Maria Anna. The castle had become the property of the Prussian royal family when the Principality of Schaumberg-Lippe sided with the Austrians, the losers in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War. The gift was also meant to be in recognition of Georg’s support of Prussia in the dispute over the succession to the Principality of Lippe throne. (See Unofficial Royalty: Alexander, Prince of Lippe for an explanation of the dispute over the succession to the Principality of Lippe throne.)

Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe died on April 29, 1911, aged 64, at Bückeburg Castle (link in German) in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. He was buried at the Bückeburg Mausoleum (link in German) in the park surrounding Bückeburg Castle. Georg’s son and successor Adolf II, the last reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, had the mausoleum built following his father’s death. Georg’s wife Marie Anna survived him by seven years, dying on May 3, 1918, at age 54. She was buried with her husband at the Bückeburg Mausoleum.

The Bückeburg Mausoleum. photo: By Corradox – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7328133

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 (Schaumburg-Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_(Schaumburg-Lippe)> [Accessed 16 October 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Marie Anna Von Sachsen-Altenburg. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Anna_von_Sachsen-Altenburg> [Accessed 16 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Georg, Prince Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg,_Prince_of_Schaumburg-Lippe> [Accessed 16 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Princess Marie Anne Of Saxe-Altenburg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_Anne_of_Saxe-Altenburg> [Accessed 16 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 16 October 2020].
  • Thepeerage.com. 2020. Genealogy Of Georg, Prince Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://www.thepeerage.com/p11098.htm#i110977> [Accessed 16 October 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1907. Kaiser Rewards Prince. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/04/21/104704676.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 16 October 2020].

Adolf I, 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 II 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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Credit – Wikipedia

Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (Adolf Georg) was the eldest of the nine children of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont. He was born at Bückeburg Castle (link in German) in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, on August 1, 1817.

Adolf had eight younger siblings. He was 24 years older than his youngest sibling:

Adolf was educated at the local school on Schulstrasse (School Street) in Bückeburg, founded in 1614 as a Latin school. A new school was constructed in a different location in Bückeburg from 1874 to 1876 and was named Gymnasium Adolfinum after Adolf, who was the reigning Prince at that time. The Gymnasium Adolfinum in Bückeburg is still in existence, however, it is located in a newer building in a different location. A gymnasium in the German education system is the most advanced of the three types of German secondary schools.

As was typical for German princes of that time, Adolf studied for short periods at several universities (Geneva, Leipzig, and Bonn), followed by a grand tour of Italy. In 1835, he served as a captain in the Schaumburg-Lippe contingent in the German Federal Army, the army of the German Confederation. From 1842 – 1892, Adolf served in the Prussian Army, ultimately reaching the rank of General of the Cavalry, fighting in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870 – 1871).

Adolf and his wife Hermine in 1862; Credit – Royal Collection Trust

On October 20, 1844, at Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, Adolf married his maternal first cousin Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont, a daughter of Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Hermine was born on September 29, 1827. Through her brother and her father’s successor Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Hermine was the aunt of Princess Marie who married the future King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, Princess Emma who married King Willem III of the Netherlands, and Princess Helena who married Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac, youngest son.

Adolf and Hermine had eight children including two daughters named Emma who both died young:

On November 21, 1860, upon the death of his father Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, Adolf became the reigning Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. In 1867, the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe joined the North German Confederation, the German federal state that existed from July 1867 to December 1870. After long negotiations with the Schaumburg-Lippe national assembly, Adolf agreed to a new constitution in 1868.

Proclamation of King Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 10, 1870, the legislature of the North German Confederation adopted the name Deutsches Reich (German Empire) and granted the additional title of German Emperor to Wilhelm I, King of Prussia. On January 18, 1871, Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe was present in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France when Wilhelm I, King of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor. The Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe was one of the 26 constituent states of the German Empire.

After a reign of 33 years, Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe died at the age of 75, on May 8, 1893, 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 St. Martini Church (link in German) in Stadthagen, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. Adolf’s wife Hermine survived him by 17 years, dying on February 16, 1910, at the age of 82, at Bückeburg Castle, and was buried with her husband.

The Princely Mausoleum at the St. Martini Church in Stadthagen. photo: By losch – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17674154

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. Adolf I. Georg (Schaumburg-Lippe). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_I._Georg_(Schaumburg-Lippe)> [Accessed 15 October 2020].
  • 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. Adolf I, Prince Of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_I,_Prince_of_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. Princess Hermine Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Hermine_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [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].

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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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

Georg Wilhelm’s father Philipp Ernst had first married in 1756 to 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 in hopes of having 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 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]

Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess Reuss of Greiz

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Ida Mathilde Adelheid of Schaumburg-Lippe, the wife of Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz, was born on July 28, 1852, in Bückeburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, now in Lower Saxony, Germany. She was the fifth of the eight children and the third of the four daughters of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. . Ida and her sisters had a simple upbringing but were well-educated. They not only knew about how to run a household but could hold their own in discussions about philosophy and science.

Ida had four older siblings and three younger siblings:

Ida’s husband Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 8, 1872, 20-year-old Ida married 26-year-old Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. Ida and Heinrich XXII had one son and five daughters. Their only son Heinrich XXIV would be unable to marry and be unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Heinrich XXIV would be nominally the 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz but two Regents from the House of Reuss-Gera (also called the Younger Line) successively ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913 and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918, when the monarchy was abolished in 1918 at the end of World War I.

Ida’s son Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz; Credit – Wikipedia

Ida and Heinrich XXII’s children:

The five Reuss-Greiz sisters, left to right – Hermine, Ida, Marie, Caroline, and Emma; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1871 to 1873, Heinrich XXII built Jagdschloss Ida-Waldhaus, a hunting lodge in the forest near Greiz which he named after his beloved wife Ida. Heinrich XXII loved the tranquility of that forest so much that he decided to be buried there. In 1878, Heinrich XXII commissioned Eduard Oberländer, the master-builder of Greiz, to build a Gothic-style chapel with a crypt, which was completed in 1883. The Waldhaus Mausoleum (link in German) would first be used for Ida eight years later.

Waldhaus Mausoleum near Greiz; Credit – Wikipedia

Sadly, on September 28, 1891, Ida died, aged 39, from complications that occurred during the birth of her sixth child, a daughter, named Ida after her. Heinrich XXII wrote to his former mentor Baron Albert von der Trenk, “The sun of my earthly happiness set on September 28.”  Ida was buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum that her husband had built in the forest near Greiz. When Ida’s husband Heinrich XXII died in 1902 and when their son Heinrich XXIV died in 1927, they were also buried in the Waldhaus Mausoleum. By 1969, the Waldhaus Mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and the remains of Heinrich XXII, Ida, and their son Heinrich XXIV were taken to Werdau Crematorium, cremated, and placed in urns. The urns were reburied at the Neue Friedhof (New Cemetery) in Greiz, Thuringia, Germany. Since 1997, the resting place of the urns has been at the Stadtkirche St. Marien (link in German) in Greiz.

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.

Reuss-Greiz Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Princess Ida of Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Ida_of_Schaumburg-Lippe [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2020). Heinrich XXII, 5th Prince Reuss of Greiz. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/heinrich-xxii-5th-prince-reuss-of-greiz/ [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].
  • It.wikipedia.org. (2020). Ida di Schaumburg-Lippe. [online] Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_di_Schaumburg-Lippe [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].