Background
Friedrich was born at Mechernich, Kingdom of Prussia, (now in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany) the tenth child and seventh son of Julius, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1812–1884), and his wife Countess Adelheid Clotilde Auguste of Castell-Castell (1818–1900), daughter of Friedrich, Count of Castell-Castell, and his wife, Princess Emilie of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.
