Alexis (Alexis Carl Ernst Louis Ferdinand Eugen Bernhard; 17 November 1845 – 21 January 1919) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

, and the Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt from 28 September 1890 to 21 January 1919.

Biography

Early life

Alexis was born in

Burgsteinfurt Steinfurt (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Steinfurt (district), district of Steinfurt. From –1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münst ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

on 17 November 1845 and was the fourth child and eldest son of Ludwig Wilhelm, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1812–1890) and his wife Landgravine Bertha of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1818–1888). Alexis was a brother of Adelheid, Landgravine Wilhelm of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1840–1880), Juliane, Landgravine Wilhelm of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1842–1878), Marie, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1843–1931), Prince Karl of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1848–1854), and Prince Georg of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1851–1939).

Education and military career

Alexis attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and attended

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, where he was a member of the

Corps Borussia Bonn The Corps Borussia Bonn is a German Student Corps at the University of Bonn. History Borussia was established on 22 December 1821 and joined the Kösener Senioren-Convents-Verband (KSCV) in 1856. It is the corps of the House of Hohenzollern a ...

. In 1866, Alexis was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Hanoverian Guards Hussars Regiment and in 1868, he was transferred to the Hussars Regiment No. 7. In 1873, he advanced to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

and then to

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

in the Regiment der Gardes du Corps in 1875. In 1884, Alexis advanced to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

in the army. In 1892 Alexis was made lieutenant colonel, then

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1895, and major general in 1899. In 1902, he was awarded the uniform of the Regiment der Garde du Corps

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Political career

Alexis succeeded his father Ludwig Wilhelm to the headship of the Princely House of Bentheim and Steinfurt. As such, he became a member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords () in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Representatives (), it formed the Prussian bicameral legislature ...

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:
Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat
' (1908), Herrenhaus p. 217

Marriage and issue

Alexis married Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont, second child and daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his first wife Princess Helena of Nassau, on 7 May 1881 in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Alexis and Pauline had eight children: *Prince Eberwyn of Bentheim and Steinfurt (10 April 1882 – 31 July 1949) : ∞ 1906–1914 Pauline Langenfeld (1884–1970) : ∞ 1918–1919 Ellen Bischoff-Korthaus (1894–1936), who later remarried

Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe Adolf II (23 February 1883 – 26 March 1936) was the last ruler of the small Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe in northwestern Germany from 29 April 1911 until his abdication on 15 November 1918. Adolf was the eldest son of Georg, Prince of Scha ...

: ∞ 1920 Anne-Louise Husser (1891–1951) *Victor Adolf, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (18 July 1883 – 4 June 1961) : ∞ 1920 Princess Stephanie of

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and 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 capi ...

(1899–1925), daughter of Princess Louise of Denmark. : ∞ 1931 Princess Rosa Helene of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1901–1963) *Prince Karl Georg of Bentheim and Steinfurt (10 December 1884 – 14 February 1951) : ∞ 1914 Princess Margarete of Schönaich-Carolath (1888–1980) *Princess Elisabeth of Bentheim and Steinfurt (12 July 1886 – 8 May 1959) *Princess Viktoria of Bentheim and Steinfurt (18 August 1887 – 30 January 1961) *Princess Emma of Bentheim and Steinfurt (19 February 1889 – 25 April 1905) *Prince Alexis Rainer of Bentheim and Steinfurt (16 December 1891 – 30 June 1923) *Prince Friedrich of Bentheim and Steinfurt (27 May 1894 – 17 May 1981) : ∞ 1934 Louise von Gülich (1893-1949)

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* Hermann A. L. Degener: ''Wer ist's?'', V, Leipzig 1911, S. 89 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexis Of Bentheim And Steinfurt, Prince Princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt 1845 births 1919 deaths People from the Kingdom of Hanover People from Steinfurt Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords Members of the Prussian House of Lords Lieutenant generals of Prussia University of Bonn alumni Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Pretenders