Background
He was a son of Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe, by his wife Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. Frederick was born at Ratiboritz Castle, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Ratibořice, Czechoslovakian Republic), the third child and second son of Prince William of Schaumburg-Lippe (1834–1906), (son of George William, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe and Princess Ida of Waldeck and Pyrmont) and his wife, Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau (1837–1902), (daughter of Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Dessau and Princess Marie Luise Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel).