Simon Philip, Count of Lippe (6 April 1632 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 ...

– 19 June 1650 in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

) was a German nobleman. He was the nominal ruling Count of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

from 1636 until his death. As he was still a minor, his grandfather and later his mother acted as

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 ...

Life

He was the eldest son of Count

Simon Louis, Count of Lippe Simon Louis, Count of Lippe (14 March 1610 at Brake Castle – 8 August 1636 in Detmold), was Count of Lippe-Detmold from 1627 until his death. Life He was the second eldest son of Count Simon VII, Count of Lippe, Simon VII of Lippe and his ...

and his wife Countess Catherine of Waldeck-Wildungen. Simon Philip and his younger brothers were still minors when their father died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in 1636. Their mother Catherine tried to become their guardian and regent. At the age of 24, she was still a minor herself,Back then, people came of age in their 25th birthday so she tried to have her father, Count Christian of Waldeck-Wildungen appointed as guardian and regent. Her brother-in-law, John Bernard also claimed the regency and guardianship of his nephews. Catherine was afraid that John Bernard might want to kill his nephews and inherit Lippe himself. She contacted the troops of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...

, who happened to be quartered in

Lemgo Lemgo (; ) is a university and old Hanseatic League, Hanseatic town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of H ...

and

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river north of the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In ...

. In 1638, a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

from Darmstadt kidnapped the children and brought them to Lemgo and

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

. Later they were brought to

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

, where Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt took them in his care. George II was their first cousin once removed, as his paternal grandmother was the sister of the princes' great-grandfather. In 1645, George II brought them to

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

, to protect them against the ravages of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. In Giessen, they contracted

, and Simon Philip's two younger brothers died there in 1646. In the meantime, their mother had remarried to Duke Philip Louis of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg, so she had become a duchess. In 1647, she had her son kidnapped again, and he returned to Detmold via a detour. In Detmold, he was engaged to the seven-year-old Countess Elisabeth Charlotte of Holzappel. In 1649, Simon Philip began his Grand Tour. It took him to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, and

. In Florence, he contracted smallpox. He died there in 1650. Since he had no male heir, his uncle John Bernard inherited the county.

Footnotes

Counts of Lippe House of Lippe 1632 births 1650 deaths 17th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-noble-stub