Traute, Princess of Lippe ( ; born Traute Becker, 16 February 1925 – 25 February 2023) was a German princess, philanthropist, and biologist. She was a patron of the visual arts, the Princess Pauline Foundation, the City of Detmold, and the District of Lippe. She was the bearer of the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. She was awarded a Crown Cross in gold from the

Diakonisches Werk The Diakonie Deutschland is a charitable organization of Protestant churches in Germany ( Protestant Church in Germany), Austria as well as numerous free churches. Its Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catho ...

in recognition of her social work. Born in Hänigsen,

Uetze Uetze () is a municipality in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Fuhse, approximately east of Hanover. Geography Uetze is the easternmost municipality in the Hanover Region. It is bordered by the di ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, Traute was the daughter of Charlotte Meyer and Gustave Becker. She earned a doctorate in biology. Traute married

Armin, Prince of Lippe Armin, Prince of Lippe (''Armin Leopold Ernst Bruno Heinrich Willa August Fürst zur Lippe''; 18 August 1924 – 20 August 2015, also in Detmold) was the fourth son of Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe, from his second wife, Princess Anna of Ysenburg a ...

, in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, where they first met, on 27 March 1953. He was head of the Princely House of Lippe. In 1959, Traute gave birth to their son

Stephan, Prince of Lippe Stephan, Prince of Lippe (''Stephan Leopold Justus Richard Prinz zur Lippe'', ; born 24 May 1959), is the son of Armin, Prince of Lippe and Traute Becker, and the current head of the House of Lippe since 2015. His traditional titles include Pri ...

. She was regularly seen walking around Detmold with Prince Armin and their

Scottish terrier The Scottish Terrier (; also known as the Aberdeen Terrier), popularly called the Scottie, is a dog breed, breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of terrier that were grouped under the name of ''Skye Terrier'', it is one of five br ...

dog until Armin died in 2015. They were married for 62 years, and had five grandchildren. Princess Traute of Lippe was a board member of the Princess Pauline Foundation from 1979 to 2000 and served as chairman from 1983 to 1995. She was a founding member of the Lippische Gesellschaft für Kunst, along with Prince Armin, and served as its honorary chairman from 2016. In 2015, she also took over patronage of the MS-Kontaktkreis, a multiple sclerosis support group, following the death of Prince Armin and hosted its annual visit to Detmold Castle. Princess Traute died at Detmold Castle on 25 February 2023, at the age of 98.

Publications

References

External links

A Portrait: Dr. Traute zur Lippe by Lippische Landeszeitung (YouTube)
{{Authority control 1925 births 2023 deaths House of Lippe Princesses of Lippe German women philanthropists German philanthropists 20th-century German biologists German patrons of the arts People from Hanover Region