Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (23 February 1883 – 26 March 1936) was the last ruler of the small

Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bück ...

Biography

Adolf was born in

Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen-Hobbensen, Hörkamp-L ...

to the then hereditary Prince Georg (1846–1911) and

Princess Marie Anne of Saxe-Altenburg Princess Marie Anne of Saxe-Altenburg (14 March 1864 – 3 May 1918) was the consort of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. As the eldest daughter of Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg and his wife Princess Augusta of Saxe-Meiningen, and a sister ...

(1864–1918) during the reign of his grandfather Prince Adolf I. He became

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to Schaumburg-Lippe on 8 May 1893 following the death of his grandfather, and the accession of his father. He succeeded his father as prince on 29 April 1911, and reigned until he was forced to abdicate on 15 November 1918 following the

German revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: the principality became the

Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe The Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe (german: link=no, Freistaat Schaumburg-Lippe) was created following the abdication of Prince Adolf II of Schaumburg-Lippe on 15 November 1918. It was a state in Germany during the Weimar Republic, headed by a ...

. Adolf was exiled to Brioni in

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

. During his reign he developed the spa of

Bad Eilsen Bad Eilsen (West Low German: ''Ahlsen'') is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately southwest of Stadthagen, and southeast of Minden. Bad Eilsen is also the seat of the ''Samtgemein ...

and was responsible for many buildings there.

Marriage and death

Adolf married Ellen Bischoff-Korthaus (1894–1936, previously married to Prince Eberwyn, son of

Alexis, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt , reign = 28 September 1890 –21 January 1919 , succession = Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt , successor = Viktor Adolf , predecessor = Ludwig Wilhelm , house = House of Bentheim and Steinfurt , spouse = Princess Pauline of Waldeck ...

) in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 10 January 1920. They were both killed in a plane crash in

Zumpango Zumpango is a municipality located to northeastern part of the state of Mexico in Zumpango Region. It lies directly north of the Mexico City within the Greater Mexico City urban area. The city of Zumpango lies near Lake Zumpango, the last of the f ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, on 26 March 1936, while flying from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

in a

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

airplane. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' from 27 March 1936 reported that it was the worst Mexican air crash. All fourteen people died on board the airplane, ten tourists from Europe and four crew members. His youngest brother

Prince Friedrich Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe Prince Friedrich Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe (5 June 1906 – 20 September 1983) was a German prince, the youngest son of Georg, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and his consort Princess Marie Anne of Saxe-Altenburg. Unhappy and disillusioned with th ...

, who served as an adjutant to

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

, spoke out against letting Ellen be buried in Bückeburger Mausoleum next to her husband, because she was not of "

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

origin". He was succeeded as head of the House of

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bück ...

by his brother Wolrad.

Ancestry

References

External links

*
A 1913 wire photo; hosting and hunting with the Germain kaiser.
'' Quebec Chronicle'' 1883 births 1936 deaths People from Stadthagen Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe House of Lippe Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Mexico Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1936 State leaders killed in aviation accidents or incidents People from Schaumburg-Lippe Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary {{Germany-royal-stub