Friedrich Wilhelm of Lippe (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Viktor Alexander Prinz zur Lippe; born 7 September 1947) is a claimant to the headship of the House of Lippe.

Early life

Friedrich Wilhelm was born

out of wedlock Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, the first child of Prince Ernst August of Lippe (1917–1990; son of Prince Julius Ernst of Lippe and

Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , spouse = , issue = Count George JametelCountess Marie JametelPrincess Elisabeth of Lippe Prince Ernst August of Lippe , birth_date = , birth_place = Neustrelitz, German Empire , death_date = , death_place = Oberkassel ...

) and his wife, Christa von Arnim (b. 1923; daughter of Curt David von Arnim and his wife, Stephanie von Stechow). Through his father he is second cousin of

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daug ...

Marriage

Friedrich Wilhelm married on 18 September 1991 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

to Andrea Messner (b. 1966), daughter of Günther Messner, and his wife, Lieselotte Trzoska. They had three daughters: * Princess Catharina of Lippe (b. 20 September 1991) * Princess Marie Christine of Lippe (b. 25 August 1996) * Princess Sophie of Lippe (b. 5 February 2002)

House of Lippe

On 30 December 1949 his father's first cousin Prince Armin succeeded his father, Leopold IV as head of the House of Lippe. On 22 March 1953, he renounced his position in favour of his older half-brother, Prince Leopold. This move proved controversial within the house and several princes started legal proceedings. Prince Leopold later in 1958 renounced the headship in favour of his older brother, Hereditary Prince Ernst. Later in that year the Hereditary Prince called a family council where it was agreed by the princes in attendance that the oldest prince living in Germany would be head of the house. Therefore, the position went to Prince Simon Casimir (1900–1980). His father changed his mind, believing all princes of the house, not just those living in

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 ...

, should be considered. He ultimately assumed the headship of the house. His father died in 1990 and Friedrich Wilhelm continued the claim, despite his illegitimate birth. Prince Armin, who has said he did not think his decision in 1953 was irrevocable, also claims to be head of the house.

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Reference: 1987 65 *Beéche, Arturo E. (October 2006). "A Headless House? The Dynastic Dispute of the House of Lippe". European Royal History Journal (LIII): 13–17. {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Wilhelm Of Lippe 1947 births Living people People from Neuwied House of Lippe Princes of Lippe German people of English descent