Leopold II was born in
Detmold, the eldest child of
Leopold I, the reigning prince of Lippe and his consort Princess
Pauline of
Anhalt-Bernburg. He succeeded as Prince of Lippe on his father's death on 5 November 1802. As he was just six years old, his mother Princess Pauline acted as
regent until 3 July 1820, when he assumed control of the government. During the regency, his mother had introduced a constitution in 1819 which created an assembly which at the time had more executive powers than any other assembly in Germany. In 1825, he constructed a
Court Theatre. Among those to perform at the theatre were
Albert Lortzing and
Ludwig Devrient, who were employed there from 1826 to 1833. In the last years of his reign, the
revolutions of 1848 broke out across all of Germany. Following his death in
Detmold, he was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son
Leopold III. ==Marriage and children==