Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe (''Leopold Julius Bernhard Adalbert Otto Karl Gustav''; 30 May 1871 – 30 December 1949) was the final 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 ...

in northwestern Germany from 1905 until his abdication in 1918. Prior to succeeding to the throne, he had been governing the state since 1904 as regent. He was the first and only ruler of Lippe of the

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 ...

branch.

Early life

He was born as Count Leopold of Lippe-Biesterfeld in Oberkassel, the son of Ernest, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld and Countess Karoline of Wartensleben. Leopold belonged to the

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. ...

which was the most senior line of the princely house after the reigning

Lippe-Detmold 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 ...

line. After obtaining the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1891, he served as an officer in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

until 1894, when he left to study political science at the universities of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Ruler of Lippe

Since 1895, the Principality of Lippe had been ruled by a regent due to the incapacity of Prince Alexander. Leopold's father had acted as regent since 1897, and following his death on 26 September 1904, Leopold assumed the regency. This was not recognized by the

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

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 ...

, who initially refused to legally recognize Leopold as regent as there was an issue over whether Leopold and his siblings were of legitimate rank, and as such eligible for the succession. As a result, the Diet of Lippe appointed a high commission to consider the matter. The regency issue was still ongoing when Prince Alexander died on 13 January 1905. Leopold was confirmed as Prince of Lippe and Alexander's successor on 25 October 1905, following a court ruling. On 3 June 1911, while out motoring, Leopold and his brother Prince Julius were attacked by a gang of Italian laborers who hurled a shower of missiles at the princes. Though Leopold escaped unhurt, his brother received a head wound. LeopoldIVofLippe

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Leopold upgraded the titles of the various lines of the

. One of the members to benefit from the granting of titles was Leopold's nephew Count Bernhard of Biesterfeld (son of Leopold's brother Bernhard), who would go on to become the Prince Consort of Queen

Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Sh ...

. On 24 February 1916, Bernhard and his brother were upgraded to the title Prince of Lippe-Biesterfeld with the style Serene Highness. The Counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld also benefited with creations of the title Prince of Lippe-Weissenfeld, with the style

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...

, taking place on 24 February 1916 for Count Clemens and his descendants, and again on 9 November 1918 for the other members of this line. Amtsverzicht_Leopold_IV

Just three days after upgrading the titles of members of the Lippe-Weissenfeld line, and following the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

's defeat in

and the subsequent

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, Leopold was forced to renounce the throne on 12 November 1918. Following the end of his rule, the Principality of Lippe was transformed into a Free state in the new

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

Post abdication

After the rise of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

in Germany all three of his sons by his first wife became members of the party. His eldest son the Hereditary Prince Ernst is reported to have been the first German prince to join the party when he signed up in May 1928. In addition to being pro Nazi, both Hereditary Prince Ernst and Prince Chlodwig had contracted unequal marriages. So in 1947 when Leopold wrote his will,

Armin Armin is a male given name and surname of Indo-European languages, Indo-European origin. In the Balkans, Armin is popular among Bosniaks in the former Yugoslavia, Yugoslav nations. The name is a modification of Amin (name), Amin, following a pat ...

, his youngest son and only child with his second wife, would succeed him as head of the

and also become administrator of the princely family's properties such as Schloss Detmold. Thus when Leopold died in Detmold his three eldest sons were all disinherited and his youngest son

became head of the princely house.

Marriages and children

Leopold was married to Princess Bertha of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1874–1919) on 16 August 1901 in Rotenburg. They had five children. *Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Lippe (1902–1987) married first (1924) Charlotte Ricken (1900–1974). After divorcing in 1934 he married secondly (1937) Herta-Elise Weiland (1911–1970) *Prince Leopold Bernhard of Lippe (1904–1965) *Princess Karoline of Lippe (1905–2001) married (1932) Count Hans von Kanitz (1893–1968) *Prince Chlodwig of Lippe (1909–2000) married (1940) Veronika Holl (1915–2007) *Princess Sieglinde of Lippe (1915–2008) married (1942) Friedrich Carl Heldman (1904–1977) He was married secondly to Princess Anna of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1886–1980) on 26 April 1922 at

Büdingen Büdingen () is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is mainly known for its well-preserved, heavily fortified medieval town wall and half-timbered houses. Geography Location Büdingen is in the south of the Wetterau below the Vog ...

. From this marriage he had one son. * Armin, Prince of Lippe (1924–2015) married Traute Becker in 1953. Their only son is: ** Stephan, Prince of Lippe, born 1959, married Countess Maria of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of S ...

in 1994

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe 1871 births 1949 deaths Nobility from Düsseldorf 20th-century regents House of Lippe Princes of Lippe Counts of Lippe-Biesterfeld German hunters Pretenders Monarchs who abdicated