Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe (german: Adolf Wilhelm Viktor; 20 July 1859 – 9 July 1916) was a German

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

of the House of Schaumburg-Lippe and a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

General of the Cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

. He was

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a historical state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It was founded in the 1640s under a separa ...

from 1895 to 1897 due to the incapacity of his distant relative Alexander, Prince of Lippe.

Early life

Prince Adolf was born on 20 July 1859 at Bückeburg Palace (german: Schloss Bückeburg) in

Bückeburg Bückeburg (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bückeborg'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia. It is located in the district of Schaumburg close to the northern slopes of the Weserbergland ridge. Population: 21,0 ...

, the capital 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 ...

in central

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, during the reign of his paternal grandfather,

George William, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (20 December 1784 – 21 November 1860) was a Count and later Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. Biography He was born in Bückeburg the son of Philipp II, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe, and his second wife Prince ...

. He was the seventh child and fourth son of Adolf, Hereditary Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1817–1893) and

Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont Princess Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont (29 September 1827 – 16 February 1910) was a German princess. She was the second daughter of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. She wa ...

(1827–1910), a daughter of

George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (german: Georg Friedrich Heinrich Fürst zu Waldeck und Pyrmont; 20 September 178915 May 1845) was Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont from 1813 to 1845. He was the son of George I, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmon ...

. On 21 November 1860, Adolf's father succeeded as Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe following the death of his own father, Prince George William. Prince Adolf was brought up with his siblings at Bückeburg Palace. From 1872 to 1874 he and his five years older brother, Prince Otto Heinrich, were educated by Hubert Maximilian Ermisch who would later become a wellknown

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Regent of Lippe

Following the death of Prince Woldemar of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The d ...

on the 20 March 1895 and the ascension of Woldemar's brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, Adolf was appointed to act as regent of the

due to Prince Alexander being unable to rule due to a mental illness. He continued to act as regent until 1897 when he was replaced by

Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld Ernst, 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 Principalit ...

Marriage

In 1890 Prince Adolf met

Princess Viktoria of Prussia Princess Friederike Amalia Wilhelmine Viktoria of Prussia (12 April 1866 – 13 November 1929) was the second daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Born a member of th ...

during a visit to Marie, Princess of Wied, mother of

Queen Elisabeth of Romania Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then-Pr ...

. They were married on the 19 November 1890 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 ...

. She was a daughter of

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informa ...

, and as such Adolf was a brother-in-law to the last

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

. The wedding was attended by the Emperor Wilhelm, along with his wife

Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein , house = Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg , father = Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein , mother = Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Dolzig Palace ...

and Victoria's mother, the widowed Empress Victoria. As Princess Victoria's mother was a member of the British royal family, many of her relatives also attended, including

Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein Princess Helena (Helena Augusta Victoria; 25 May 1846 – 9 June 1923), later Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, was the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Helena was educated by private tutors chosen ...

. After the ceremony, the couple held a banquet, at which Emperor Wilhelm feelingly assured the pair of "his protection and friendly care". After a prolonged

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

to several countries, the couple settled in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

where they acquired

Palais Schaumburg Palais Schaumburg is a neoclassical-style building in Bonn, Germany, which served as the primary official seat of the German Federal Chancellery and the primary official residence of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1 ...

as their residence. The marriage remained childless, though Princess Viktoria had a miscarriage within the first few months of marriage.

Orders and decorations

Ancestry

References

External links

Adolf Schamburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adolf Of Schaumburg-Lippe 1859 births 1917 deaths Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) House of Lippe People from Bückeburg Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe Regents of Germany German hunters Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath