Leopold II of Lippe (Paul Alexander Leopold; 6 November 1796 – 1 January 1851) was the sovereign 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 sep ...

. He succeeded to the throne in 1802, and in 1820 he assumed control of the government from his mother, who had been acting as regent due to his youth at accession.

Biography

Leopold II was born in

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

, the eldest child of Leopold I, the reigning prince of Lippe and his consort Princess Pauline of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of A ...

(1769–1820). He succeeded as Prince of Lippe on his father's death on 5 November 1802. As he was just six years old, his mother Princess Pauline acted as

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 ...

until 3 July 1820, when he assumed control of the government. 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. 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. In the last years of his reign, the

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

broke out across all of Germany. Following his death in

, he was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son Leopold III.

Marriage and children

Prince Leopold was married in

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved to ...

on 23 April 1820 to Princess Emilie of

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county until 1697. In that year, it became a principality, which la ...

(1800–1867), a daughter of

Günther Friedrich Karl I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Günther Friedrich Karl I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1760 – 22 April 1837) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen from 1794 until his abdication in 1835. Early life He was the eldest child of Prince Christian Günther III an ...

, and Princess Caroline of

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since ...

. They had nine children: * Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821–1875), married to princess

Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1833–1896) on 17 April 1852. *Princess Luise of Lippe (1822–1887) * Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (1824–1895), married to princess Sophie of Baden (7 August 1834 – 6 April 1904) on 9 November 1858. *Princess Friederike of Lippe (1825–1897) *Prince Friedrich of Lippe (1827–1854) *Prince Hermann of Lippe (1829–1884) *

Alexander, Prince of Lippe Alexander, Prince of Lippe (german: Karl Alexander Fürst zur Lippe) (16 January 1831 – 13 January 1905) was the penultimate sovereign of the Principality of Lippe. Succeeding to the throne in 1895, Alexander had his power exercised by a regent ...

(1831–1905) *Prince Karl of Lippe (1832–1834) *Princess Pauline of Lippe (1834–1906)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Ii, Prince of Lippe 1796 births 1851 deaths House of Lippe Princes of Lippe Modern child rulers