Count Ernst of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Encyclopedia
Ernst II, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld (Ernst Kasimir Friedrich Karl Eberhard; 9 June 1842 – 26 September 1904) was the head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld
line of the House of Lippe
. From 1897 until his death he was the regent
of the Principality of Lippe
.
(1812–1884) and Countess Adelheid of Castell-Castell
(1818–1900). On 17 May 1884 Count Ernst succeeded his father as the head of Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe
. After the reigning Princes of Lippe, Biesterfeld was the most senior line of the princely house followed by the counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe
.
On 20 March 1895 the reigning prince of Lippe, Prince Woldemar
died childless. His heir was his brother Alexander
who was incapable of ruling on account of a mental illness so a regency had to be established. A decree had been issued in 1890 by the late Prince Woldemar and though kept secret until his death it resulted in Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe
, the brother in law of the German Emperor William II
and not Count Ernst being appointed regent.
This act was disputed by Count Ernst who put forward a claim to the regency. Lippe's diet
confirmed Prince Adolf as regent on 24 April pending a settlement over the right to the Lippe regency.
In the first scene (1895–97) of the Lippe succession dispute, it was claimed on part of the Schaumburg-Lippe that count Ernest's paternal grandmother, noblewoman Modeste von Unruh (who belonged to a family of lower nobility) was not noble enough to be legitimately a dynastic wife - that would have made progeny born of her ineligible to succeed.
ruled in favour of the claims of Count Ernst. Prince Adolf then resigned the regency and was replaced by Count Ernst.
The panel assessed that the Lippe dynasts do not need to marry princely ladies in order to preserve dynasticity; the outcome was a verdict that a lady from an old lower-noble family is sufficient. Modeste von Unruh was adjudicated to have fulfilled this criterion.
While regent Count Ernst was snubbed by the German Emperor after writing to William II complaining that the officers of the local garrison did not salute his children, did not address them by the correct style for a ruling family, and that the commanding general at Detmold
had personally ordered this. The Emperor's telegraph in response to Count Ernst's request was:
Ernst remained as regent until his death in Schloss Lopshorn at which point his son Leopold
succeeded him as head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line and regent, before becoming the reigning Prince of Lippe four months later on the death of Prince Alexander.
. From the marriage he had six children (prince/princess of Lippe since 1905).
In the Lippe succession dispute (1904–05), it was claimed on part of the Schaumburg-Lippe that countess Karoline von Wartensleben (who belonged to a family of counts whose rank of count was from the 18th century, and who were originally of lower nobility) was not noble enough to be legitimately a dynastic wife of count Ernst - that would have made her sons ineligible to succeed. However, it was ruled by the 1905 panel that her birth was high enough and her children with Ernst were dynasts.
Lippe-Biesterfeld
Lippe-Biesterfeld is a cadet line of the House of Lippe, a morganatic title created in 1916, and since 1937 a title of the Dutch Royal House.-History:...
line of the House of Lippe
House of Lippe
The House of Lippe is a German Royal House. The House of Lippe descends from Count Jobst Hermann of Lippe whose son Bernhard I was the founder of the state of Lippe in 1123....
. From 1897 until his death he was the regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of the Principality of Lippe
Principality of Lippe
Lippe was a historical state in Germany. It was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.-History:...
.
Early life and dispute
He was born in Oberkassel the third child of Julius, Count of Lippe-BiesterfeldJulius, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Julius, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld was Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld from 1840 to 1884 and father of Ernest II, regent of the Principality of Lippe...
(1812–1884) and Countess Adelheid of Castell-Castell
Castell-Castell
Castell-Castell was a County in the Holy Roman Empire. It was established as a partition of Castell-Remlingen in 1668, and it was partitioned between itself and Castell in 1709...
(1818–1900). On 17 May 1884 Count Ernst succeeded his father as the head of Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe
House of Lippe
The House of Lippe is a German Royal House. The House of Lippe descends from Count Jobst Hermann of Lippe whose son Bernhard I was the founder of the state of Lippe in 1123....
. After the reigning Princes of Lippe, Biesterfeld was the most senior line of the princely house followed by the counts of Lippe-Weissenfeld and the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bückeburg.- History :...
.
On 20 March 1895 the reigning prince of Lippe, Prince Woldemar
Woldemar, Prince of Lippe
Woldemar of Lippe was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe reigning from 1875 until his death.-Early life and reign:...
died childless. His heir was his brother Alexander
Alexander, Prince of Lippe
Alexander, Prince of Lippe was the penultimate sovereign of the Principality of Lippe. Succeeding to the throne in 1895, power was exercised by a regent throughout his reign on account of his mental illness....
who was incapable of ruling on account of a mental illness so a regency had to be established. A decree had been issued in 1890 by the late Prince Woldemar and though kept secret until his death it resulted in Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe
Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe
Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe was the regent of the Principality of Lippe from 1895 till 1897.-Early life:He was born in Bückeburg the seventh child of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Hermine of Waldeck-Pyrmont .Following the death of Prince Woldemar on the 20 March 1895 and...
, the brother in law of the German Emperor William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
and not Count Ernst being appointed regent.
This act was disputed by Count Ernst who put forward a claim to the regency. Lippe's diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
confirmed Prince Adolf as regent on 24 April pending a settlement over the right to the Lippe regency.
In the first scene (1895–97) of the Lippe succession dispute, it was claimed on part of the Schaumburg-Lippe that count Ernest's paternal grandmother, noblewoman Modeste von Unruh (who belonged to a family of lower nobility) was not noble enough to be legitimately a dynastic wife - that would have made progeny born of her ineligible to succeed.
Regent of Lippe
A settlement was reached in 1897 when a commission under the presidency of King Albert of SaxonyAlbert of Saxony
Albert of Saxony may refer to:* Albert of Saxony * Albert I, Duke of Saxony * Albert, Duke of Saxony * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen * Albert of Saxony...
ruled in favour of the claims of Count Ernst. Prince Adolf then resigned the regency and was replaced by Count Ernst.
The panel assessed that the Lippe dynasts do not need to marry princely ladies in order to preserve dynasticity; the outcome was a verdict that a lady from an old lower-noble family is sufficient. Modeste von Unruh was adjudicated to have fulfilled this criterion.
While regent Count Ernst was snubbed by the German Emperor after writing to William II complaining that the officers of the local garrison did not salute his children, did not address them by the correct style for a ruling family, and that the commanding general at Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
had personally ordered this. The Emperor's telegraph in response to Count Ernst's request was:
Ernst remained as regent until his death in Schloss Lopshorn at which point his son Leopold
Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe
Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe was the final sovereign of the Principality of Lippe...
succeeded him as head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line and regent, before becoming the reigning Prince of Lippe four months later on the death of Prince Alexander.
Marriage and children
Ernst was married to Countess Karoline of Wartensleben (1844–1905) on the 16 September 1869 in NeudorfNeudorf
There are communes and places that have the name Neudorf :-In Austria:*Neudorf bei Staatz, in the district of Mistelbach, Lower Austria*Wiener Neudorf, in the district of Mödling, Lower Austria*Neudorf bei Parndorf, in Burgenland...
. From the marriage he had six children (prince/princess of Lippe since 1905).
- Countess AdelheidCountess Adelaide of Lippe-BiesterfeldCountess Adelaide of Lippe-Biesterfeld was the eldest child of Ernest II, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld and Countess Karoline of Wartensleben.-Family and early life:...
(22 June 1870 – 3 September 1948) married Prince Frederick Johann of Saxe-Meiningen; they were the grandparents of Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of Crown Prince Otto of AustriaOtto von HabsburgOtto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
. - Leopold IV, Prince of LippeLeopold IV, Prince of LippeLeopold IV, Prince of Lippe was the final sovereign of the Principality of Lippe...
(30 May 1871 – 30 December 1949) - Count BernhardPrince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1872–1934)-References:This article is based on this article on Dutch Wikipedia....
(26 August 1872 – 19 June 1934) father of Prince Bernhard of Lippe-BiesterfeldPrince Bernhard of Lippe-BiesterfeldPrince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld , later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, was prince consort of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and father of six children, including the current monarch Queen Beatrix....
, husband of Queen Juliana of the NetherlandsJuliana of the NetherlandsJuliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
. - Count Julius (2 September 1873 – 15 September 1952) married Duchess Marie of MecklenburgDuchess Marie of MecklenburgDuchess Marie of Mecklenburg was the eldest daughter of Adolf Friedrich V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt....
- Countess Karola (2 September 1873 – 23 April 1958)
- Countess Mathilde (27 March 1875 – 12 February 1907)
In the Lippe succession dispute (1904–05), it was claimed on part of the Schaumburg-Lippe that countess Karoline von Wartensleben (who belonged to a family of counts whose rank of count was from the 18th century, and who were originally of lower nobility) was not noble enough to be legitimately a dynastic wife of count Ernst - that would have made her sons ineligible to succeed. However, it was ruled by the 1905 panel that her birth was high enough and her children with Ernst were dynasts.