by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was the wife of Leopold II, Prince of Lippe. Born on April 23, 1800, in Sonderhausen, then in the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia, Emilie Friederike Caroline was the elder of the two children and the only daughter of Günther Friedrich Karl I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Her paternal grandparents were Christian Günther III, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Charlotte Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg. Emilie’s maternal grandparents were Friedrich Karl, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Friederike of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Emilie had one brother:

Although Emilie’s father Günther Friedrich Karl I promoted the arts in his principality, he ruled as an absolute monarch despite his subjects wanting a say in the principality’s government. Emilie’s mother had a different mindset on many issues, and in 1816, she moved with her children to Arnstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia, where they led a quiet and peaceful life. Eventually, Günther Friedrich Karl I’s refusal to grant any concessions made him very unpopular and he was forced to abdicate on August 19, 1835, by his son Günther Friedrich Karl II in a palace revolt called the Ebeleben Revolution.

Emilie’s husband Leopold II, Prince of Lippe; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 23, 1820, her 20th birthday, Emilie married 23-year-old Leopold II, Prince of Lippe in Arnstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, now in the German state of Thuringia.

Emilie and Leopold had nine children including three reigning Princes of Lippe but none of their children had children.

• Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (1821 – 1875), married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, no children
• Princess Luise of Lippe (1822 – 1887), unmarried
• Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (1824 – 1895), married Princess Sophie of Baden, no children
• Princess Friederike of Lippe (1825 – 1897), unmarried
• Prince Friedrich of Lippe (1827 – 1854), unmarried
• Prince Hermann of Lippe (1829 – 1884), unmarried
• Alexander, Prince of Lippe (1831 – 1905), unmarried, a regency was established due to his
• mental illness
  Prince Karl of Lippe (1832 – 1834), died in childhood
• Princess Pauline of Lippe (1834 – 1906), unmarried

The Princely Residential Palace in Detmold, home of the Princes of Lippe; Credit – Von Nikater (Diskussion · Beiträge) – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4885970

Due to a difficult childhood, Leopold II was a reclusive person. His father Leopold I, Prince of Lippe had been deemed mentally incapacitated by the Imperial Chamber Court, one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, and placed under guardianship. Leopold II’s mother Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg, became her husband’s governmental adviser and colleague, staying mostly in the background and avoiding anything that could be interpreted as exceeding her duties. When Leopold I died in 1802, his five-year-old son became Leopold II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen with his mother Pauline very capably acting as Regent of the Principality of Lippe until 1820, the same year Emilie and Leopold II were married. Sadly, Leopold II’s mother Pauline died on December 29, 1820. Emilie was kind and gentle and understood the strict lifestyle of her husband. The couple lived in the Princely Residential Palace Detmold (link in German) where they led an exemplary family life.

Leopold II had a passion for the theater and with the help of his wife Emilie, the Lippe Princely Court Theater (Hochfürstliches Lippisches Hoftheater – link in German) was established in Detmold in 1825. It was among the best theaters in the German monarchies. The schedule for the theater included both opera and plays. In 1912, the original theater burned to the ground because of a damaged chimney. However, the theater was rebuilt, financed with donations from the Detmold citizens and funds from the Princely House. The rebuilt theater and the theater company established by Leopold II and Emilie are still in existence today. Now called the Landestheater Detmold (link in German), it is a theater for operas, operettas, musicals, ballets, and stage plays in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Crypt in the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg; Credit – Von unbekannt / Tsungam – Foto: Eigenes Werk; Infotafel: Freunde der Residenz Detmold, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20182639

On January 1, 1851, Leopold II, Prince of Lippe died in Detmold at the age of 54. Initially buried at the Church of the Redeemer (link in German) in Detmold, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Leopold’s remains were later moved to the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg (link in German) in Detmold after the mausoleum’s completion in 1855. Emílie survived her husband by sixteen years, dying on April 2, 1867, in Detmold. She was buried at the Mausoleum on the Büchenberg next to her husband.

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Works Cited

• Emilie zur Lippe (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilie_zur_Lippe (Accessed: 08 July 2023).
• Emílie Schwarzbursko-Sondershausenská (2023) Wikipedia (Czech). Available at: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Em%C3%ADlie_Schwarzbursko-Sondershausensk%C3%A1 (Accessed: 08 July 2023).
• Емілія Шварцбург-Зондерсгаузенська (2023) Wikipedia (Ukrainian). Available at: https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%95%D0%BC%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%96%D1%8F_%D0%A8%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%86%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B3-%D0%97%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B0 (Accessed: 08 July 2023).
• Flantzer, Susan. (2020) Leopold II, Prince of Lippe, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/leopold-ii-prince-of-lippe/ (Accessed: 08 July 2023).