Woldemar, Prince of Lippe

Infobox Monarch
name =Woldemar
title =Prince of Lippe


caption =
reign =8 December 1875 - 20 March 1895
predecessor =Leopold III
successor =Alexander
consort =Sophie of Baden
royal house =Lippe
father =Leopold II
mother =Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
date of birth =birth date|1824|4|18
place of birth =Detmold
date of death =death date and age|1895|3|20|1824|4|18
place of death =Detmold|

Woldemar, Prince of Lippe ("Günther Friedrich Woldemar"; 18 April 1824 - 20 March 1895) was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe reigning from 1875 until his death.

Early life and reign

Prince Woldemar of Lippe was born in Detmold the third child of Leopold II, Lippe's reigning prince and his consort Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1800-1867). Woldemar was married to Princess Sophie of Baden (1834-1904) a daughter of Prince William of Baden on 9 November 1858 in Karlsruhe.

Following the death of his brother Leopold III on 8 December 1875 Woldemar succeeded him as Prince of Lippe.cite news | title = Death of Prince of Lippe | publisher = New York Times | page = 5 | date = 1895-03-21 ] In 1892 along with the other German sovereigns Woldemar attended a gathering in Berlin with the German Emperor William II. After the Emperor described the other sovereigns as his vassal's Prince Waldemar took exception and interrupted the speech to say "No sire not your vassals. Your allies, if you like". This was seen as the Coup de grâce to the Emperors ambition to become "Emperor of Germany" instead of just "German Emperor". [cite news | title = The Indiscretions Of The Many Sided Kaiser | publisher = New York Times | page = SM9 | date = 1909-04-12 ]

Death and regency dispute

Following his childless death in Detmold Woldemar was succeeded as Prince of Lippe by his brother Alexander. His brother however was suffering from a mental illness and as he had been placed under legal restrictions in 1870 and 1893 it was necessary for a regency to established in Lippe. [cite journal | last = Beéche | first = Arturo E. | title = A Headless House? The Dynastic Dispute of the House of Lippe | journal = European Royal History Journal | issue = LIII | pages = 13 | date = October 2006 ] Prince Woldemar foreseeing this had made a provision in his will that the regency should go to Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe the brother in law of the German Emperor.

Prince Woldemar's decision to appoint Prince Adolf was the beginning of a decade long dispute between two lines of the House of Lippe, the Lippe-Biesterfeld's led by Count Ernst who claimed the regency, and the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. There were various compromises and the matter was finally resolved in 1905.

Ancestry

ahnentafel top|Ancestors of Woldemar, Prince of Lippe|width=100%ahnentafel-compact4
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #ffa801;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #ffbd3d;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffd179;
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1= Woldemar, Prince of Lippe
2= Leopold II, Prince of Lippe
3= Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
4= Leopold I, Prince of Lippe
5= Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg
6= Günther Friedrich Karl I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
7= Princess Karoline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
8= Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold
9= Princess Leopoldine of Anhalt-Dessau
10=Prince Friedrich Albrecht of Anhalt-Bernburg
11=Princess Luise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön
12=Christian Günther III, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
13=Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg
14=Friedrich Karl I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
15=Princess Friederike of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadtahnentafel bottom

References

External links

The Love to Know article, based on the Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Edition is at [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Lippe,_Germany_(State)]

A summary of events can be found at Wikinfo [http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/index.php/Lippe-Detmold_Question]