Alexis Carl Ernst Louis Ferdinand Eugen Bernhard, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt was a Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

, statesman

Statesman

A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

, and the Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt

Bentheim-Steinfurt

Bentheim-Steinfurt was a County of Germany, located in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia in the region surrounding Steinfurt. Bentheim-Steinfurt was a partition of Bentheim-Bentheim...

 from 28 September 1890 to 21 January 1919.

Early life

Alexis was born in Burgsteinfurt, Kingdom of Hanover

Kingdom of Hanover

The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...

 on 17 November 1845 and was the fourth child and eldest son of Ludwig Wilhelm, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt

Ludwig Wilhelm, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt

Ludwig Wilhelm, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt was a Royal Hanoverian and Prussian Lieutenant General and the Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt from 3 November 1866 to 28 September 1890.-Early life:...

 (1812–1890) and his wife Landgravine Bertha of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1818–1888). Alexis was a brother of Adelheid, Landgravine Wilhelm of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1840–1880), Juliane, Landgravine Wilhelm of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1842–1878), Marie, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1843–1931), Prince Karl of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1848–1854), and Prince Georg of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1851–1939).

Education and military career

Alexis attended high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Burgsteinfurt and attended university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 at the University of Bonn

University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...

, where he was a member of the Corps Borussia Bonn. In 1866, Alexis was a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the Hanoverian Guards Hussars Regiment and in 1868, he was transferred to the Hussars Regiment No. 7. In 1873, he advanced to First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

 and then to Rittmeister

Rittmeister

Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...

 in the Regiment der Gardes du Corps in 1875. In 1884, Alexis advanced to Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 à la suite

À la suite

À la suite was a military title, given to those who were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. It can best be translated as "in the entourage of".In Prussia, these were:...

 in the Army. In 1892 Alexis was made Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

, then Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 in 1895, and Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 in 1899. In 1902, he was awarded the uniform of the Regiment der Garde du Corps Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

.

Political career

Alexis succeeded his father Ludwig Wilhelm to the headship of the Princely House of Bentheim and Steinfurt

Bentheim-Steinfurt

Bentheim-Steinfurt was a County of Germany, located in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia in the region surrounding Steinfurt. Bentheim-Steinfurt was a partition of Bentheim-Bentheim...

. As such, he became a hereditary member of the Prussian House of Lords

Prussian House of Lords

The Prussian House of Lords was the first chamber of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1850-1918. The second chamber was the Prussian House of Representatives . The House of Lords was created on January 31, 1850 with the adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia...

 and the Württembergian Chamber of Lords.

Marriage and issue

Alexis married Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Princess Pauline of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Princess Pauline Emma Auguste Hermine of Waldeck and Pyrmont was a member of the House of Waldeck and Pyrmont and a Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont...

, second child and daughter of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

George Victor was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont.He was born in Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym...

 and his first wife Princess Helena of Nassau

Princess Helena of Nassau

Princess Helena of Nassau was daughter of William, Duke of Nassau , and consort of George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont.-Early life:...

, on 7 May 1881 in Arolsen

Bad Arolsen

Bad Arolsen is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and then until 1929 as the capital of the Waldeck Free State...

, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Waldeck (state)

Waldeck was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and, until 1929, a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. It comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony, ....

. Alexis and Pauline had eight children:

• Prince Eberwyn of Bentheim and Steinfurt (10 April 1882 – 31 July 1949)

∞ 1906–1914 Pauline Langenfeld (1884–1970)

∞ 1918–1919 Ellen Bischoff-Korthaus (1894–1936)

∞ 1920 Anne-Louise Husser (1891–1951)

• Viktor Adolf, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (18 July 1883 – 4 June 1961)

∞ 1920 Princess Stephanie of Schaumburg-Lippe (1899–1925), daughter of Princess Louise of Denmark.

∞ 1931 Princess Rosa Helene of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1901–1963)

• Prince Karl Georg of Bentheim and Steinfurt (10 December 1884 – 14 February 1951)

∞ 1914 Princess Margarete of Schönaich-Carolath (1888–1980)

• Princess Elisabeth of Bentheim and Steinfurt (12 July 1886 – 8 May 1959)
• Princess Viktoria of Bentheim and Steinfurt (18 August 1887 – 30 January 1961)
• Princess Emma of Bentheim and Steinfurt (19 February 1889 – 25 April 1905)
• Prince Alexis Rainer of Bentheim and Steinfurt (16 December 1891 – 30 June 1923)
• Prince Friedrich of Bentheim and Steinfurt (27 May 1894 – 17 May 1981)

∞ 1934 Louise von Gülich (1893-1949)

Ancestry

Titles and styles

• 17 November 1845 – 28 September 1890: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt
• 28 September 1890 – 21 January 1919: His Serene Highness The Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt

Literature

• Hermann A. L. Degener: Wer ist's?, V, Leipzig 1911, S. 89