Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe

Princess Marie Alix
Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein
Coat of arms of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe
Tenure	10 February 1965 – 30 September 1980
Predecessor	Marie Melita
Successor	Elisabeth
Born	Marie Alix zu Schaumburg-Lippe 2 April 1923 Bückeburg, Schaumburg-Lippe, Germany
Died	1 November 2021(2021-11-01) (aged 98) Thumby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Burial	Louisenlund Castle
Spouse	Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Issue	Princess Marita Prince Christoph Prince Alexander Princess Ingeborg
House	House of Lippe
Father	Prince Stefan of Schaumburg-Lippe [uk]
Mother	Ingeborg Alix, Princess Stephan Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe [uk]

Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe (Marie Alix zu Schaumburg-Lippe; 2 April 1923 – 1 November 2021) was Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein as the wife of Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 1965 to 1980.[1]

Biography

Family

Marie Alix was the only daughter of Prince Stefan of Schaumburg-Lippe [uk] and Ingeborg Alix, Princess Stephan Alexander of Schaumburg-Lippe [uk].[1] Her father was a diplomat and she lived as a child in Sofia, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires[2] and Santiago de Chile.[3] She was the niece of Adolf II, the last ruler of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe who abdicated following the German Revolution of 1918–1919.[1] Marie Alix's younger brother, Prince Georg Moritz of Schaumburg-Lippe, was killed in a car accident in 1970 without marrying or having children.[1]

Marriage and issue

Marie Alix married Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, third son of Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and his wife Princess Marie Melita of Hohenlohe-Langenburg in Glücksburg on 9 October 1947.[3] Peter and Marie Alix had four children:[1]

• Princess Marita of Schleswig-Holstein (born 5 September 1948 in Schleswig), she married Wilfred Eberhard Manfred Baron von Plotho (born 1942) in 1975. They have two children.[1]
• Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (22 August 1949 – 27 September 2023), he married Princess Elisabeth of Lippe-Weissenfeld (born 1957) in 1981. They had four children.[1]
• Alexander, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 9 July 1953 in Thumby), he married Barbara Fertsch (1961–2009) in 1994. They had two children.[1]
• Princess Ingeborg of Schleswig-Holstein (born 9 July 1956 in Thumby), she married Nicolas Broschek (born 1942) in 1991. They have one child, a son.[1]

Work

She was a co-founder of the Stiftung Louisenlund, which runs an eponymous boarding school in Güby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. She was also involved in working with the German Red Cross.[3]

Death and funeral

Princess Marie Alix of Schaumburg-Lippe died in Thumby on 1 November 2021 at the age of 98.[4]

Her funeral was held 11 November 2021 in Schleswig Cathedral and she was buried in a family crypt at the family home, Louisenlund.[5]^[unreliable source?]

References

1. Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F.; Magdelaine, B. (1994). L'Allemagne dynastique (in French). Le Perreux-sur-Marne: A. Giraud. ISBN 978-2-90113-807-5.
2. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto (1941). Memoria del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto (in Spanish). p. 675.
3. "Marie Alix Herzogin zu Schleswig-Holstein ist tot". t-online (in German). 3 November 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
4. "Zum Tod von Marie Alix Herzogin zu Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg". Eckernförder Zeitung (in German). 2 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
5. Gabardos, Arnaud (13 December 2021). "La duchesse douairière Marie-Alix de Schleswig-Holstein s'est éteinte". Revue Dynastie (in French). Retrieved 21 July 2023.