Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld

Infobox Monarch
name =Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld
title =Regent of Lippe


reign =17 July, 1897 – 26 September 1904
predecessor =Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe
successor =Leopold, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld
spouse 1 =Countess Karoline of Wartensleben
royal house =Lippe
father =Julius, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld
mother =Adelheid of Castell-Castell
date of birth =birth date|1842|6|9
place of birth =Oberkassel
date of death =death date and age|1904|9|26|1842|6|9
place of death =Schloss Lopshorn|

Ernst, 5th Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld ("Ernst Kasimir Friedrich Karl Eberhard"; 9 June 1842 - 26 September 1904) was the head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. From 1897 until his death he was the regent of the Principality of Lippe.

Early life and dispute

He was born in Oberkassel the third child of Count Julius of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1812-1884) and Countess Adelheid of Castell-Castell (1818-1900). On 17 May 1884 Count Ernst succeeded his father as the head of Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. After the reigning Princes of Lippe, Biesterfeld was the most senior line of the princely house followed by the counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe.

On 20 March 1895 the reigning prince of Lippe, Prince Woldemar died childless. His heir was his brother Alexander who was incapable of ruling on account of a mental illness so a regency had to be established. A decree had been issued in 1890 by the late Prince Woldemar and though kept secret until his death it resulted in Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe, the brother in law of the German Emperor William II and not Count Ernst being appointed regent.

This act was disputed by Count Ernst who put forward a claim to the regency. Lippe's diet confirmed Prince Adolf as regent on 24 April pending a settlement over the right to the Lippe regency. [cite news | title = Prince Adolf Confirmed as Regent | publisher = New York Times | page = 5 | date = 1895-04-25 ]

Regent of Lippe

A settlement was reached in 1897 when a commission under the presidency of King Albert of Saxony ruled in favour of the claims of Count Ernst. [cite news | title = Lippe Succession Decided | publisher = New York Times | page = 7 | date = 1897-07-08 ] Prince Adolf then resigned the regency and was replaced by Count Ernst.

While regent Count Ernst was snubbed by the German Emperor after writing to William II complaining that the officers of the local garrison did not salute his children, did address them by the correct style for a ruling family, and that the commanding general at Detmold had personally ordered this. The Emperor's telegraph in response to Count Ernst's request was: [cite news | title = Regent of Lippe Dead | publisher = New York Times | page = 9 | date = 1904-09-27 ]

Ernst remained as regent until his death in Schloss Lopshorn at which point his son Leopold succeeded him as head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line and regent, before becoming the reigning Prince of Lippe four months later on the death of Prince Alexander.

Marriage and children

Ernst was married to Countess Karoline of Wartensleben (1844-1905) on the 16 September 1869 in Neudorf. [cite book |year=1904 |publisher=Justus Perthes |edition=141st |title=Almanach de Gotha |pages=53 ] From the marriage he had six children.

*Countess Adelheid (22 June, 1870 - 3 September, 1948) married Prince Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen.
*Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe (30 May, 1871 - 30 December, 1949)
*Count Bernhard (26 August, 1872 - 19 June, 1934) father of Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld.
*Count Julius (2 September, 1873 - 15 September, 1952) married Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg
*Countess Karola (2 September, 1873 - 23 April, 1958)
*Countess Mathilde (27 March, 1875 - 12 February, 1907)

References