Leopold II, Prince of Lippe

Infobox Monarch
name =Leopold II
title =Prince of Lippe


reign =4 April 1802 - 1 January 1851
predecessor =Leopold I
successor =Leopold III
consort =Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
royal house =Lippe
father =Leopold I
mother =Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg
date of birth =birth date|1796|11|6
place of birth =Detmold
date of death =death date and age|1851|1|1|1796|11|6
place of death =Detmold|

Leopold II, Prince of Lippe ("Paul Alexander Leopold"; 6 November 1796 - 1 January 1851) was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe. Succeeding to the throne in 1802 he assumed control of the government in 1820 from his mother who had been acting as regent due to his age at ascension.

Biography

Leopold II was born in Detmold the eldest child of Leopold I the reigning prince of Lippe and his consort Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg (1769-1820). He succeeded as Prince of Lippe on his fathers death on 4 April 1802. However as he was just six years old his mother Princess Pauline would act as regent until 3 July 1820 when he assumed control of the government. [cite book |year=1850 |publisher=Justus Perthes |edition=87th |title=Almanach de Gotha |pages=38 ] During the regency, his mother had introduced a constitution in 1819 which created an assembly which at the time had more executive powers than any other assembly in Germany. [cite book |last=Knight |first=Charles |title=Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |year=1839 |pages=37 ]

In 1825 he constructed a Court Theatre. Among those to perform at the theatre were Albert Lortzing and Ludwig Devrient who were employed there from 1826 to 1833. [cite book |last=Gadberry |first=Glen W |title=Theatre in the Third Reich, the Prewar Years: Essays on Theatre in Nazi Germany |year=1995 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0313295166 |pages=33, 34 ]

In the last years of his reign the revolutions of 1848 broke out across all of Germany. Following his death in Detmold he was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son Leopold III. [cite news | title =The Gentleman's Magazine | date =1851| pages =335]

Marriage and children

Prince Leopold was married in Arnstadt on 23 April 1820 to Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1800-1867). They had nine children.

*Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821-1875)
*Princess Luise of Lippe (1822-1887)
*Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (1824-1895)
*Princess Friederike of Lippe (1825-1897)
*Prince Friedrich of Lippe (1827-1854)
*Prince Hermann of Lippe (1829-1884)
*Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831-1905)
*Prince Karl of Lippe (1832-1834)
*Princess Pauline of Lippe (1834-1906)

References