Alexander, Prince of Lippe () (16 January 1831 – 13 January 1905) was the penultimate sovereign of the

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a 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 originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

. Succeeding to the throne in 1895, Alexander had his power exercised by a regent throughout his reign on account of his mental illness.

Early life and ascension

Prince Alexander of Lippe was born in Detmold the seventh child of Leopold II, Lippe's reigning prince and Leopold's consort 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 (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...

(1800–1867). Prince Alexander for a time served as a captain in the Hanoverian Army. Alexander succeeded as Prince of Lippe on 20 March 1895 following the death of his brother Prince Woldemar. As Alexander had been showing signs of a mental illness and had been placed under legal restrictions in 1870 and in 1893, it was necessary for a regency to be established in Lippe. Alexander was the last male of the Lippe-Detmold line, the next senior line of the

House of Lippe The House of Lippe () is the former reigning house of a number of small Germany, German states, two of which existed until the German Revolution of 1918–19, the Principality of Lippe and the Schaumburg-Lippe, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. ...

were the Counts of

Lippe-Biesterfeld The House of Lippe-Biesterfeld was a comital and later princely cadet line of the House of Lippe (a German dynasty reigning from 1413 until 1918, of comital and, from 1789, of princely rank). The comital branch of Lippe-Biesterfeld ascended t ...

followed by the Counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and then the most junior line the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe.

Regency dispute

Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe, the brother-in-law of the German Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, immediately claimed the position of

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

on Alexander's ascension, basing the claim on a decree that had been issued by Prince Woldemar in 1890, but kept secret until Woldemar's death. This act was disputed by Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld who also put forward a claim to the regency. Lippe's diet confirmed Prince Adolf as regent on 24 April 1895, pending a settlement over the disputed regency. A settlement was reached in 1897 when a commission under the presidency of King Albert of Saxony ruled in favour of the claims of Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld. Prince Adolf then resigned the regency and was replaced by Count Ernst, who would rule until his death in 1904 as regent for Alexander. Ernst's son Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld succeeded as regent.

Life as prince

While unable to exercise power Alexander lived at the

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

of St Gilgenberg near

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

, where he would often be seen attending

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s and the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. He also passed time by playing chess, copying pictures from newspapers and listening to music. He was also aware of his position as a sovereign prince and would insist on royal etiquette being observed. Alexander's death at St Gilgenberg brought about the extinction of the Lippe-Detmold line. Count Leopold of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line succeeded him as Prince of Lippe.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Prince of Lippe 1831 births 1905 deaths House of Lippe Princes of Lippe