Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld

Prince Bernhard of Lippe (Bernhard Kasimir Wilhelm Friedrich Gustav Heinrich Eduard; Oberkassel, 26 August 1872 – Munich, 19 June 1934) was a member of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. He is most notable for being the father of Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, the prince consort of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.

Biography

Prince Bernhard of Lippe, born as Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld in Oberkassel on 26 August 1872, was the 2nd son of Ernest II, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld, regent (1897–1904) of the principality of Lippe, and Countess Karoline of Wartensleben. He was a younger brother of Leopold IV, Prince of Lippe, who succeeded as reigning Prince of Lippe in 1905. He pursued a career as a soldier, serving in the Prussian Army, and attaining the rank of major.

On 4 March 1909, Bernhard entered into a morganatic marriage with Baroness Armgard von Cramm. Before this marriage, his wife was granted the title Countess of Biesterfeld (Gräfin von Biesterfeld) on 8 February 1909. She and her two sons Bernhard and Aschwin were created Princess (Prince) of Lippe-Biesterfeld (Prinzessin (Prinz) zur Lippe-Biesterfeld) on 24 February 1916 with the style Serene Highness, which brought their children into a more senior place in the line of succession, in which they hitherto had been the very last. The suffix Biesterfeld was revived to mark the beginning of a new cadet line. They had two sons:

• Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004), married in 1937 to Juliana of the Netherlands, had issue.
• Prince Aschwin of Lippe-Biesterfeld (13 June 1914 – 14 May 1988), married in 1951 to Simone Arnoux, no issue.

Ancestry