Leopold III, Prince of Lippe

Leopold III of Lippe (Paul Friedrich Emil Leopold; 1 September 1821 – 8 December 1875) was the sovereign of the Principality of Lippe reigning from 1851 until his death.

Leopold III
Prince of Lippe
Reign1 January 1851 – 8 December 1875
PredecessorLeopold II
SuccessorWoldemar
Born(1821-09-01)1 September 1821
Detmold
Died8 December 1875(1875-12-08) (aged 54)
Detmold
Spouse
Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
​
​
(m. 1852)​
HouseLippe
FatherLeopold II, Prince of Lippe
MotherPrincess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

Early life and ascension

Leopold III was born in Detmold the eldest child of Leopold II, the reigning prince of Lippe and his consort Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1800–1867). Being the heir apparent to the throne from birth he had the title Hereditary Prince.

He succeeded as Prince of Lippe on 1 January 1851 following the death of his father.[1] A year after succeeding to the throne Leopold was married on 17 April 1852 in Rudolstadt to Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1833–1896) the daughter of Prince Albert of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Reign

In 1854 Leopold issued two sovereign edicts. The first on 9 March, placed the Catholic Church on an equal footing with the Calvinist State Church of Lippe. The second six days later on 15 March, was to grant the same status to the Lutherans.[2]

Lippe went through various changes during his reign. At his ascension the principality was a member of the German Confederation, and Leopold supported Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Following the war and the dissolution of the German Confederation, Lippe joined the North German Confederation on its creation in 1867. Lippe would then remain a member of the North German Confederation until the creation of the German Empire in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War.

Prince Leopold was one of the main promoters of the creation of the Hermann monument in the Teutoburg Forest which was opened by the German Emperor William I in the summer of 1875.[1] A few months after the unveiling of the monument Leopold died in Detmold. As Leopold was childless, his brother Woldemar succeeded him as Prince of Lippe.

The composer Johannes Brahms was a member of the prince's household between 1857 and 1859 as a conductor and music teacher to his sister Princess Friederike.

Ancestry

References
  1. "Obituary. Prince Leopold II of Lippe-Detmold". The New York Times. 10 December 1875. p. 4.
  2. "Lippe". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. p. 276.
Leopold III, Prince of Lippe
Born: 1 September, 1821 Died: 8 December 1875
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Leopold II		 Prince of Lippe
1851–1875		 Succeeded by
Woldemar


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