Woldemar of Lippe (''Günther Friedrich Woldemar''; 18 April 1824 – 20 March 1895) was the 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 ...
, reigning from 1875 until his death.
Early life and reign
Prince Woldemar of Lippe was born in
Detmold the third child of
Leopold II, Lippe's reigning prince, and his 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).
Woldemar was married to
Princess Sophie of Baden (1834–1904), a daughter of
Prince William of Baden, on 9 November 1858 in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
.
Following the death of his brother
Leopold III on 8 December 1875, Woldemar succeeded him as Prince of Lippe.
In 1892 along with the other German sovereigns Woldemar attended a gathering in
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 ...
with the
German Emperor William II. After the Emperor described the other sovereigns as his vassals, Prince Waldemar took exception and interrupted the speech to say, "No, Sire, not your vassals. Your allies, if you like". This was seen as the
coup de grâce to the Emperor's ambition to become "Emperor of Germany" instead of just "German Emperor".
Death and regency dispute
Following his death in
Detmold, Woldemar was succeeded as Prince of Lippe by his brother
Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
. His brother, however, was suffering from a mental illness, and as he had been placed under legal restrictions in 1870 and 1893, a regency was necessary to be established in Lippe.
Prince Woldemar foreseeing this had made a provision in his will that the regency should go to
Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe, the brother-in-law of the German Emperor.
[
Prince Woldemar's decision to appoint Prince Adolf was the beginning of a decade long dispute between two lines 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.
...
, the Lippe-Biesterfeld's led by Count Ernst who claimed the regency, and the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe. There were various compromises and the matter was finally resolved in 1905.
Ancestry
References
External links
*
A summary of events can be found at Wikinfobr>
1824 births
1895 deaths
People from Detmold
House of Lippe
Princes of Lippe
Generals of Cavalry (Prussia)
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