Category Archives: Former Monarchies

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:

Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1817 – 1893), married his first cousin Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont, had four daughters and four sons including Georg who succeeded his father, Ida who married Heinrich XXII, Prince Reuss of Greiz, and Adolf who married Princess Viktoria of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal
Princess Mathilde (1818 – 1891), married Duke Eugen of Württemberg, had two daughters and one son
Princess Adelheid (1821 – 1899), married Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, had three daughters and two sons
Prince Ernst (1822 – 1831), died in childhood
Princess Ida (1824 – 1894), unmarried
Princess Emma (1827 – 1828), died in infancy
Prince Wilhelm (1834 – 1906), married Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau, had four daughters and four sons including Charlotte who married King Wilhelm II of Württemberg and Adelheid who married Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Prince Hermann (born and died 1839), died in infancy
Princess Elisabeth (1841 – 1926), married Prince Wilhelm of Hanau and Horowitz, no children, divorced

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

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Schaumburg-Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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

Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

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

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

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Credit – Wikipedia

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

Leopold had five siblings:

Countess Adelheid (1870 – 1948) married Prince Friedrich Johann of Saxe-Meiningen, had six children, grandparents of Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Crown Prince Otto of Austria
Prince Bernhard (1872 – 1934), married Baroness Armgard von Cramm, had two sons including Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
Prince Julius (1873 – 1952) married Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had two children
Princess Karola (1873 – 1958), unmarried
Princess Mathilde (1875 – 1907), unmarried

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leopold and Bertha had five children:

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

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

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

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

In 1825, Leopold II, Prince of Lippe had built a theater and established a very successful theater company, the Lippe Princely Court Theater (Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater). In 1912, the original theater burned to the ground because of a damaged chimney. Leopold IV had the theater rebuilt during World War I, financed with donations from the Detmold citizens and funds from the Princely House. The rebuilt theater and the theater company is 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leopold and Anna had one son:

Armin, Prince of Lippe (1924 – 2015) married Traute Becker, had one son

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

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

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

Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

Stephan, Prince of Lippe; Credit – geni.com

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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

Alexander, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

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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.

Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821 – 1875), married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, no children
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)
Prince Karl of Lippe (1832 – 1834), died in childhood
Princess Pauline of Lippe (1834 – 1906)

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 his death 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 and 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 did improve for a while and that allowed 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 he was succeeded by his next brother Woldemar who was 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.

As for Alexander, he probably knew nothing about the Lippe succession dispute. He remained at the St. Gilgenberg Sanatorium but 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

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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

Woldemar, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

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Woldemar, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

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

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

Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821 – 1875), married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, no children
Princess Luise of Lippe (1822 – 1887)
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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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. It appears that 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. Upon the death of his father 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, 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 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 would 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 basement of the church. This led to Leopold III having the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg built. 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.

Lippe Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

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

Leopold II, Prince of Lippe

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

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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)

In 1790, Leopold I’s mental disorders interfered with his role as reigning prince and 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. 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 Carl 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 Carl 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:

Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821 – 1875), married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, no children
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)

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.

Official Website: Landestheater Detmold (link in German)

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.

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

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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:

Alexius Friedrich Christian, Prince and from 1807 Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg (1767 – 1834), married (1) Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel, had two daughters and two sons, divorced due to Marie Friederike’s progressive mental illness which their two surviving children inherited (2) morganatic marriage to Dorothea Fredericka of Sonnenberg (1781 – 1818), Dorothea died four months after the marriage (2) morganatic marriage to Dorothea’s sister Ernestine Charlotte of Sonnenberg (1789 – 1845), no children

Pauline and her brother Alexius were educated together, supervised by their father. Receiving the same education as a brother was unusual at that time but 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 strongly influenced by Christian ethics and Enlightenment ideas including the writings of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. By the time she was thirteen-year-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 had 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 in 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)

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, providing assistance from 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 to childcare, youth work, and care of the elderly.

Princess Pauline Foundation (Fürstin-Pauline-Stiftung in German) website

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 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.

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

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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, who was his mother’s sister and therefore his maternal aunt, was important in his childhood but died when Leopold was eleven-year-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 in 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 and Pauline had rejected him. Finally, after the 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:

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 Leopold’s tenuous mental condition, 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.

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].

Lady Margaret Erskine, Mistress of James V, King of Scots

Credit – https://thelivesofmyancestors.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/lady-margaret-erskine-1514-1572/

James V, King of Scots had several mistresses but Lady Margaret Erskine was his favorite and the mother of the most important of his nine illegitimate children. Lady Margaret Erskine was born on October 8, 1515. She was the sixth of the nine children and the second of the four daughters of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine (1487 – 1555) and Lady Margaret Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. In 1522, John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine was appointed guardian of the ten-year-old James V, King of Scots and Constable of Stirling Castle. Margaret’s father was a claimant to the Earldom of Mar and in 1565, Margaret’s elder brother John became Earl of Mar.

Margaret had eight siblings:

John Erskine, 6th Lord Erskine,18th Earl of Mar (died 1572), married Annabel Murray, daughter of Sir William Murray, 10th of Tullibardine, had two sons and one daughter
Robert Erskine, Master of Erskine (died 1547), married Lady Margaret Graham, daughter of William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose, had one son, killed in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar (died 1592), married Margaret Home, daughter of George Home, 4th Lord Home, had seven sons and four daughters
Katherine Erskine, married Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone, had five sons and four daughters
Thomas Erskine, Master of Erskine (died 1551), married Margaret Fleming, daughter of Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming, no children
Arthur Erskine of Blackgrange (died circa 1570-1571), married Magdalen Livingston, daughter of Alexander Livingston, 5th Lord Livingston, no children
Janet Erskine, married John Murray of Touchadam, had one son and one daughter
Elizabeth Erskine, married Sir Walter Seton, 4th of Touch, had one son and one daughter

On July 11, 1527, Margaret married Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven and she was styled Lady Douglas of Lochleven.

Margaret and Robert had six children:

Euphemia Douglas, married Patrick Lindsay, 6th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, had one son and two daughters
Robert Douglas, 4th Earl of Buchan (died 1580), married Christina Stewart, 4th Countess of Buchan in her own right, had one son and three daughters
Sir George Douglas, married (1) Janet Lindsay, daughter of John Lindsay, 6th of Dowhill (2) Margaret Durie, had one daughter
Janet Douglas married Sir James Colville, had one son
Catherine Douglas married David Durie of that Ilk, had one son and one daughter (Note: “Of that Ilk” is a term used in the Scottish nobility to denote a clan chieftain in some Scottish clans.)
William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton (c. 1540 – 1606), married Lady Agnes Leslie, daughter of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes, had eleven children

James V, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Within a few years of her marriage, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, became the mistress of James V, King of Scots. James V was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland on April 10, 1512. He was the only surviving child of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VII of England and the sister of King Henry VIII of England. Therefore, James V was the nephew of King Henry VIII and the first cousin of his children King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I. When 30-year-old James IV was killed by the English army at the Battle of Flodden, his 17-month-old son succeeded him as James V, King of Scots.

Since Margaret’s father had been appointed guardian of the ten-year-old James V, King of Scots, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and James had been acquainted from an early age. James V had nine illegitimate children and at least three of them were fathered before James V was 20-year-old. His son with Margaret, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, born circa 1531, appears to be one of the three.

There is evidence that James V considered arranging the divorce of Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and her husband and then marrying her. It appears that in 1536, James V or an advisor asked Pope Paul III for his advice on the matter. On January 1, 1537, James married Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King François I of France, but the marriage lasted only six months as Madeleine died from tuberculosis. In 1538, James V made a second marriage to Marie of Guise, the eldest daughter of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, and head of the House of Guise. James V and Marie of Guise had two sons who died in infancy and one daughter. When James V died on December 14, 1542, at the age of 30, his six-day-old daughter succeeded him as the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots.

The ruins of Loch Leven Castle; Credit – By Otter – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4169460

During their marriage, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and her husband Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven lived at the family home, Loch Leven Castle set on an island in Loch Leven in central Scotland. On September 10, 1547, Robert and Margaret’s brother Robert Erskine, Master of Erskine were both killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, a catastrophic defeat for Scotland. It was part of the conflict known as the Rough Wooing. In the last years of his reign, King Henry VIII of England tried to gain an alliance with Scotland by arranging a marriage between two children, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry VIII’s son, the future King Edward VI. When diplomacy failed, and Scotland was on the point of an alliance with France, Henry launched a war against Scotland.

Because of the English hostilities, Scotland abandoned the possibility of an English marriage. In July 1548, the Scottish Parliament approved Mary’s marriage to François, Dauphin of France, the son and heir of King Henri II of France. Five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France where she would be raised with her future husband. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years, after the death of her 16-year-old husband.

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray; Credit – Wikipedia

During Mary’s thirteen-year absence, the Protestant Reformation had swept through Scotland, led by John Knox who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Therefore, Catholic Mary returned to a Scotland that was very different from the one she had left as a child. James Stewart, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven’s son with James V, and Mary’s half-brother, had become Protestant as had most of Margaret’s family. Despite their religious differences, James Stewart became the chief advisor to his sister and in September 1561, Mary created her half-brother Earl of Moray. Eventually, Mary’s behavior angered even her half-brother James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray and he joined other Protestant lords in a rebellion.

Mary, Queen of Scots Escaping from Loch Leven Castle (1805); Credit – Wikipedia

In 1567-1568, Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle for ten months, where Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and her son William became her keepers. On July 24, 1567, at Loch Leven Castle, Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son who succeeded her as James VI, King of Scots. James VI was Mary’s son by her second husband and first cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Mary and Darnley were both grandchildren of Margaret Tudor. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was made Regent for his nephew. In 1568, Mary escaped from her imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle with the help of Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven ’s son George Douglas. She made it to England only to be imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I for nineteen years and ultimately beheaded in 1587.

James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh preparing to assassinate the Earl of Moray (1835 illustration); Credit – Wikipedia

James Stewart, Earl of Moray, Margaret’s son by James V, also had an unhappy ending. On January 23, 1570, in Linlithgow, Scotland, while still serving as Regent for his nephew James VI, King of Scots, the 39-year-old Earl of Moray was assassinated by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots. It was the first assassination by a firearm in recorded history. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was buried at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Seven earls and lords carried his body into the church, and John Knox, the Scottish minister who was a leader of Scotland’s Reformation and the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, preached at the funeral. Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven survived her son by two years, dying on May 5, 1572, at the age of 57.

John Knox preaching the funeral sermon of the Earl of Moray, depicted in a stained-glass window at St. Gile’s Cathedral; Credit – By CPClegg – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82436877

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. James Stewart, 1St Earl Of Moray. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart,_1st_Earl_of_Moray> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. 2020. John Erskine, 5Th Lord Erskine. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Erskine,_5th_Lord_Erskine> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Loch Leven Castle. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Leven_Castle> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Margaret Erskine. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Erskine> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
Flantzer, Susan, 2016. James V, King Of Scots. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/james-v-king-of-scots/> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
Thepeerage.com. 2020. John Erskine, 5Th Lord Erskine – Person Page. [online] Available at: <http://www.thepeerage.com/p10834.htm#i108333> [Accessed 22 July 2020].

Mathilde Feliksovna Kschessinskaya, Ballerina, Mistress of the future Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, Mistress of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, Mistress and Wife of Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich

Credit – Wikipedia

Patronymics: In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -evna, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”.

Mathilde Feliksovna Kschessinskaya was one of the most famous ballerinas of the Maryinsky Ballet (now the Kirov Ballet) in St. Petersburg, Russia. She was awarded the title prima ballerina assoluta, traditionally reserved only for the most exceptional ballerinas of their generation. Mathilde was born on August 31, 1872, in Ligovo, Peterhof, Russia near St. Petersburg. She was the youngest of the four children and the second of the two daughters of Feliks Krzesiński (1821 – 1905) and Julia Dymiński (1830 – 1912) who were both dancers born in Warsaw, Poland. Her father was a dancer with the Maryinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg from 1853-1898, specializing in character dance, particularly the mazurka. Her mother was a former ballet dancer and the widow of the French dancer Théodore Ledé with whom she had nine children but only five survived infancy. Mathilde was baptized Maria Mathilde on November 20, 1872, at St. Stanisłav Roman Catholic Church in St. Petersburg but used her middle name professionally. There are several versions of her surname in Russian and Polish.

Mathilde’s father and mother; Credit- Wikipedia

Mathilde had three older siblings:

Stanislav Feliksovich Kschessinsky (1864 – 1868), died in childhood
Julia Feliksovna Kschessinskaya (1866 – 1969), married Baron Alexander Zeddeler, an officer in the Preobrazhensky Guards, friend and adjutant of Emperor Nicholas II, no children
Josef Feliksovich Kschessinsky (1868 – 1942), married (1) Serafina Alexandrovna Astafieva, a fellow dancer, and later a ballet teacher in London, England, had one son, divorced (2) Celina Sprechinska, a fellow dancer, had one son and one daughter (3) Marie-Antoinette, surname unknown, died in 1942

Mathilde’s sister Julia and her brother Josef both graduated from the Imperial Ballet School School in St. Petersburg, Russia, (now the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet), the school of the Maryinsky Ballet. Both danced with the Maryinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia where they were both character dancers like their father. Julia and her husband fled from Russia during the Russian Revolution, and she died in France at the age of 103. Josef remained in Russia as it became the Communist Soviet Union and like his father, had a long career. In 1927, he received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, and the following year, Josef gave his farewell performance. However, he did not retire but choreographed and staged ballets. In August 1942, Josef and his third wife both died during the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. Leningrad was the Soviet name for St. Petersburg.

When Mathilde was three-years-old, her father began teaching her dance and she often accompanied him to the theater. In 1880, eight-year-old Mathilde was accepted to the Imperial Ballet School. She studied and trained at the Imperial Ballet School for ten years, graduating in 1890.

The Imperial Family always attended the graduation performances of the Imperial Ballet School and so in the audience was Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and his family including his son and heir the future Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. The Imperial Family watched as Mathilde performed a pas de deux from La Fille Mal Gardée with a male graduating student. Afterward, the graduates were presented to the Imperial Family and Emperor Alexander III told Mathilde to “be the glory and adornment of our ballet.” At the post-performance supper, Emperor Alexander III insisted that Mathilde sit next to him and then motioned his son and heir Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich to sit on her other side – and so the seventeen-year-old Mathilde met the twenty-two-year-old Nicholas for the first time.

Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich in 1902, during his affair with Mathilde; Credit – Wikipedia

According to Mathilde’s later recollections, she had a relationship with Nicholas from 1890 – 1894. To facilitate their meetings, the imperial court rented a villa in St. Petersburg. The relationship ended when Nicholas became engaged to Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine in April 1894. Mathilde was generously compensated with the villa that had served as their meeting place and a sum of money. Nicholas II never met her in private after that, but he often watched her performances and always supported her discreetly whenever she needed it.

Credit – Wikipedia

Mathilde dancing the mazurka with her father; Credit – Wikipedia

After her graduation in 1890, Mathilde had a career with the Maryinsky Ballet until the Russian Revolution occurred in 1917. She appeared in solo roles in many ballets, including Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Nikia in La Bayadere, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, the dual role of Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, and Giselle in Giselle, often partnered by Nikolai Legat or the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky. Mathilde also danced character roles with her father, most often they danced the mazurka as they did in the St. Petersburg premiere of Swan Lake.

Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, circa 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

When Tsesarevich Nicholas broke off his relationship with Mathilde, he asked his twenty-five-year-old first cousin once removed, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (1869 – 1918), to take care of her. From 1894 until the 1917 Russian Revolution, Grand Duke Sergei was Mathilde’s protector and lover and he provided generously for her. Mathilde, who was ambitious, used her connections to the Romanovs to promote her career. Grand Duke Sergei was president of the Imperial Theatres Society and used his influence to help promote Mathilde’s career with the Maryinsky Ballet. Sergei was devoted to Mathilde but she was not in love with him. He never married but he found that Mathilde provided him with a substitute for family life. Sadly, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was one of the five Romanovs executed by the Bolsheviks with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, born Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II’s wife.

Unofficial Royalty: July 18, 1918 – Execution of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Five Other Romanovs

Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich in 1900, the year he met Mathilde; Credit – Wikipedia

At the same time, Mathilde was involved in a relationship with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, she was also involved with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich (1879 – 1956), a first cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. Grand Duke Andrei was the youngest of the four sons and the fourth of the five children of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, the second surviving son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, and Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna).

In February 1900, Grand Duke Andrei was invited by his brothers Grand Duke Kirill and Grand Duke Boris, to a dinner party at Mathilde’s home. Mathilde was attracted to the good-looking Grand Duke Andrei. As she was not in love with Grand Sergei, Mathilde pursued a relationship with Grand Duke Andrei. Mathilde and Andrei were lovers by July 1900. Grand Duke Sergei tolerated their affair, remaining a close and loyal friend to Mathilde but the relationship between the two grand dukes grew tense. They tried to avoid each other and remain civil while sharing the same woman for almost two decades.

Andrei, Mathilde, and her son Vladimir, circa 1905; Credit – Wikipedia

The relationship between the three became more complicated when Mathilde became pregnant. On June 18, 1902, Mathilde gave birth to a son. Both grand dukes were convinced that they were the infant’s father. The newborn was named Vladimir and was known as Vova in the family. A decree issued on October 15, 1911, gave nine-year-old Vladimir the patronymic Sergeevich (meaning son of Sergei) and the surname Krasinsky (according to family tradition, Mathilde’s family descended from Counts Krasinsky). Grand Duke Sergei took on the role of father and looked after Vladimir and Mathilde until his circumstances during the Russian Revolution no longer permitted him to do so. Meanwhile, Mathilde and Andrei continued their affair.

From left to right seated: Baron Alexander Zeddeler (Julia’s husband); Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; Mathilde’s son Vladimir with his aunt Julia (Mathilde’s sister) behind him; Mathilde with two unidentified children; Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich,1909; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1916, Grand Duke Andrei had been one of the Romanov family members who objected to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna being in charge of the government while her husband Emperor Nicholas II was away at military headquarters during World War I. In December 1916, the murder of the controversial Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin who had befriended the family of Emperor Nicholas II, by Andrei’s first cousin Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Prince Felix Yusupov, the husband of his first cousin Princess Irina Alexandrovna, further fractured the Romanov family. When Andrei’s ambitious mother intrigued against Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II ordered the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna to temporarily leave Saint Petersburg. In early 1917, Grand Duke Andrei and his mother Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna left for Kislovodsk, a spa resort town in the Caucasus, an area in Russia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, Nicholas II, Emperor of all Russia abdicated in March 1917 and the Russian Revolution was in its beginnings. In July 1917, Mathilde and her son escaped from the turmoil in Saint Petersburg and joined Andrei in Kislovodsk.

Andrei’s mother Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna still hoped that her own eldest son Kirill, would one day be Emperor of All Russia. When other Romanovs were leaving Russia, including her son Kirill and his family, Maria Pavlovna spent 1917-1918 with her son Boris, her son Andrei, and Mathilde along with her son Vladimir in the war-torn Caucasus. With the advance of the Bolsheviks, they fled to Anapa, Russia on the Black Sea, where they spent another fourteen months. When the Commander of the White Army told Maria Pavlovna that the Bolsheviks were going to win the Russian Civil War, she finally agreed to go into exile. On February 13, 1920, Maria Pavlovna, her son Andrei, his mistress Matilde and her son Vladimir boarded an Italian ship headed to Venice. They made their way from Venice to Switzerland and then to France. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna did not live long in exile, dying in Contrexéville, France on September 6, 1920.

Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Cannes, France where Mathilde and Andrei were finally married; Credit – By Иерей Максим Массалитин – originally posted to Flickr as Завтра зима, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9099069

After the death of his mother, Andrei felt that he would finally be able to marry Mathilde. Andrei asked for and received permission to marry Mathilde from his brother Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the Head of the Romanov Family since the murders of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, and from Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Nicholas II. Mathilde and Andrei were married in a simple ceremony in the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Cannes, France on January 30, 1921.

After the Russian Revolution, Mathilde and Grand Duke Andrei maintained that Andrei was the father of Mathilde’s son. In 1921, shortly after Mathilde and Andrei’s wedding, Vladimir was adopted by Grand Duke Andrei and his patronymic was changed to Andreievich, son of Andrei. However, the question of Vladimir’s paternity remains unresolved but most historians believe that Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, whom Vladimir resembled, was his father. On November 30, 1926, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, Head of the Romanov Family, gave Mathilde, who had converted to Russian Orthodoxy, and her son Vladimir, the title and surname of the Prince/Princess of Krasinsky. On July 28, 1935, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich gave Mathilde and her son the surname Romanovsky-Krasinsky, and so they were formally styled Princess Maria Romanovsky-Krasinsky and Prince Vladimir Andreievich Romanovsky-Krasinsky.

Cap-d’Ail, France where Mathilde and Andrei lived in exile for a while; Credit – Par Gilbert Bochenek — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18109477

Andrei and Mathilde were able to live more comfortably than some of the other exiled Romanovs. Before the Russian Revolution, Andrei had bought the Villa Alam in Cap-d’Ail, France, bordering Monaco, in Mathilde’s name, and so it did not have to be sold when Nicholas II had ordered all Romanov foreign property to be sold during World War I. To have a cash flow and maintain his standard of living, Andrei sold the jewel collection that he inherited from his mother and he mortgaged Villa Alam. However, their standard of living did not last long. Both Mathilde and Andrei liked to gamble and lost huge sums of money at the gambling tables in Monte Carlo and the rest of their money was lost in the stock market crash of 1929. Mathilde and Andrei were forced to sell the Villa Alam. They moved to Paris where they lived in the 16th arrondissement.

Embed from Getty Images
Mathilde, on the right, at her dance school in Paris

In 1929, Mathilde opened a ballet school to provide income for the family. During the 1930s, Mathilde’s ballet school prospered, allowing her family to live a modest, yet comfortable life. Her students included some of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century including Dame Margot Fonteyn of Britain’s Royal Ballet, Dame Alicia Markova of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (Fonteyn and Markova are the only two British ballerinas to be recognized as a prima ballerina assoluta), André Eglevsky who danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, Tatiana Riabouchinska who danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and Tamara Toumanova who also danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (Riabouchinska and Toumanova were two members of the famous trio called the Baby Ballerinas).

Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich between his wife Mathilde and his first cousin Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna in Paris. 1953; Credit – Wikipedia

As Andrei aged, his health worsened as did the family finances. Andrei and Mathilde were forced to sell their home in Paris and rent instead. They relied on financial aid from Andrei’s nephew Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, who was the Head of the Romanov Family, and some of Mathilde’s friends and former students, such as British ballerina Margot Fonteyn. On October 31, 1956, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich died at the age of 77 in Paris, France. Mathilde survived him by fifteen years, dying in Paris on December 6, 1971, at the age of 99. Mathilde and Andrei’s son Vladimir never married. He died in Paris, France on April 23, 1974, aged 71. Vladimir was buried with his parents at the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in Paris, France.

Grave of Andrei, Mathilde and their son Vladimir; Credit – Автор: Muumi – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62393803

Works Cited

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich Of Russia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Andrei_Vladimirovich_of_Russia> [Accessed 9 July 2020].
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En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mathilde Kschessinska. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathilde_Kschessinska> [Accessed 9 July 2020].
Hall, Coryne, 2005. Imperial Dancer: Mathilde Kschessinska And The Romanovs. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing.
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Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Кшесинский, Феликс Иванович. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%88%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9,_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%81_%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87> [Accessed 9 July 2020].
Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Сергей Михайлович. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87> [Accessed 9 July 2020].

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