He was born in
Düsseldorf, the second son of
Philipp-Ernst, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1928-2003) and his wife Baroness Eva-Benita von
Tiele-Winckler (1927-2013). At the time of the death of his grandfather,
Prince Wolrad in 1962, Alexander was unlikely to succeed to the headship of the princely house. However following the death of his older brother Hereditary Prince Georg-Wilhelm in a motorcycle accident on 31 July 1983, Alexander became the heir apparent and new Hereditary Prince. He succeeded as head of the princely house following his father's death on 28 August 2003. He studied law at
Göttingen and moved into
Bückeburg Palace upon his succession, managing the properties of the House. He is also known as a devoted jazz pianist, and has occasionally given concerts together with his friend
Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern, a saxophonist. ==Marriage and children==