Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt

Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, later Duke of all of Anhalt
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroDuke of Anhalt-Dessau, later Duke of all of Anhalt
A.K.A.Leopold Frederick
A.K.A.Leopold Frederick
PlacesGermany
wasNoble
Work fieldRoyals
Gender
Male
Birth1 October 1794, Dessau, Dessau-Roßlau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Death22 May 1871Dessau, Dessau-Roßlau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (aged 76 years)
Star signLibra
Family
Mother:Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg
Father:Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Siblings:Prince George Bernhard of Anhalt-Dessau Wilhelm von Anhalt-Dessau Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau
Spouse:Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia
Children:Princess Agnes of Anhalt-Dessau Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau Frederick I Duke of Anhalt
The details

Biography

Leopold IV Frederick, Duke of Anhalt (1 October 1794 – 22 May 1871) was a German prince of the House of Ascania.

From 1817 until 1853 he was ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau and from 1847 until 1853 also ruler of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. From 1853 until 1863 he was the ruler of the joined duchy of Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen and from 1863 the first ruler of the united duchy of Anhalt.

Early life

Leopold was born in Dessau on 1 October 1794 as the eldest son of Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, daughter of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.

Following the premature death of his father in 1814, he became heir to the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau.

Reign

Following the death of his grandfather Leopold III he succeeded as duke on 9 August 1817.

The Duke's Administrative Officer and close friend was Christian Raster, a German statesman.

During the revolutions of 1848 he was forced to grant a constitution to Dessau on 29 October 1848. It was revoked, however, on 4 November 1849, then replaced with a new version in October 1859.

On 27 November 1847 he inherited the Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen from his distant cousin Duke Henry. As a result of a treaty concluded with Anhalt-Bernburg in May 1853 his duchies were joined together and named Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen, because the eventual inheritance of Leopold over all the Anhalt duchies seemed inevitable. The death of another distant cousin, Duke Alexander Karl, on 19 August 1863 resulted in the ruling line of the duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg becoming extinct, thus Leopold inherited that duchy as well. On 30 August he assumed the title "duke of Anhalt."

Leopold died in Dessau on 22 May 1871. He was succeeded by his son Frederick.

Marriage and issue

Leopold's wife Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia

In Berlin on 18 April 1818 Leopold married Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia (b. Berlin, 30 September 1796 - d. Dessau, 1 January 1850), daughter of Prince Frederick Louis Charles of Prussia (brother of King Frederick William III of Prussia) by his wife Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; through her mother's last marriage, she was a half-sister of King George V of Hanover. They had been engaged since 17 May 1816, as the connection had already been arranged by the Prussian court. This dynastic connection was an expression of Leopold's pro-Prussian policies.

They had six children:

NameBirthDeathNotes
Princess Fredericka Amalie Auguste28 November 181911 December 1822
Princess Fredericka Amalie Agnes24 June 182423 October 1897married on 28 April 1853 to Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
A son3 August 18253 August 1825he was either stillborn or died shortly after the birth.
A son3 November 18273 November 1827he was either stillborn or died shortly after the birth.
Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt29 April 183124 January 1904married on 22 April 1854 to Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg.
Princess Maria Anna14 September 183712 May 1906married on 29 November 1854 to Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Anna Louise Föhse
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Gisela Agnes of Anhalt-Köthen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Fredericka Henriette of Anhalt-Bernburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Philip William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Princess Johanna Charlotte of Anhalt-Dessau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Margravine Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau =16
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Anna Louise Föhse =17
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Casimir William of Hesse-Homburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Frederick IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Christine Charlotte of Solms-Braunfels
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Frederick William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Ulrike Louise of Solms-Braunfels
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Sophie Magdalene of Solms-Laubach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
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