August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (11 November 1612 – 6 May 1675) was a Danish-German prince and member of the
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Danish Realm, Denmark, Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland, Kingdom of Greece, Greece, Norway, Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, King ...
. After acquiring the estate of Beck in
Westfalen in 1646, he took the title of
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck.
Biography
August Philipp was born on 11 November 1612 in
Sønderborg on the island of
Als in the
Duchy of Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...
, (then a
Danish fief). He was the fifth son of
Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and his wife, Countess Dorothea of
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen.
History
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...
.
Duke Alexander died in 1627 in Sønderborg and left his tiny duchy heavily indebted. In his will, he had stipulated that his wife should keep unaltered estate to pay the debt, and that the eldest son, John Christian, should inherit the entire duchy but remain unmarried for the time being. The widowed Duchess Dorothea was in charge of the duchy during the ensuing war years, but was unable to pay off the debt, which, on the contrary, was still growing. As a consequence, she agreed that the brothers concluded an inheritance agreement on 17 December 1633, according to which John Christian inherited the duchy in exchange for paying a significant annual amount to his mother and siblings.
[
]
After the inheritance agreement in 1633, August Philipp severed his ties with Denmark and emigrated to Germany at the age of 21, where he made a career as an officer. In
1646 he bought the
estate Haus Beck neat the city of Ulenburg,
Prince-Bishopric of Minden, from 1648 in the
Duchy of Westphalia within the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...
, from his sister
Sophie Katharina, which she had received in dowry from her brother
John Christian, upon her marriage to
Anthony Günther, Count of Oldenburg. Haus Beck was August Philipp's childhood home, and here he lived for the last 29 years of his life, where he called himself Duke of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck. He died 6 May 1675 at Haus Beck, then
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...
, and was succeeded as duke first by his oldest son,
August, and later by his second son,
Frederick Louis.
Marriages and issue
August Philipp married three times. In 1645, he married
Clara of Oldenburg (1606-1647), daughter of
Anthony II, Count of Oldenburg at
Delmenhorst
Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''List of German urban districts, Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen (city), Bremen with which ...
. In 1647, he married
Sidonie of Oldenburg (1611-1650), another daughter of
Anthony II, Count of Oldenburg at Haus Beck. On 12 April 1651, he married
Marie Sibylle of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1628-1699), daughter of
William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken at Haus Beck.
His daughter Sophie Louise married Frederick (1638-1684), son of
Otto, Count of Lippe-Brake
Otto, Count of Lippe-Brake (21 December 1589 – 18 November 1657 in Blomberg) was the first ruling Count of Lippe-Brake.
Life
Otto was born on 21 December 1589 as the son of Count Simon VI and his wife, Countess Elisabeth of Holstein-S ...
. His other daughter Dorothea Amalia married Count Philipp Ernest (1659–1753), son of
Philip I, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe.
Legacy
August Philipp founded the ducal line of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck. His sons and their descendance went into
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n,
Polish and
Russian service until his grandson's great-grandson took over
Glücksburg Castle and the line changed its name to
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in 1825. August Philip is thus a male-line ancestor of the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
,
Danish,
Greek and
Norwegian royal families.
Ancestors
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Articlein
Dansk biografisk leksikon (Danish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:August Philipp of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, Duke
1612 births
1675 deaths
Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck