Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden

Leopold
Leopold
	Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1831)
Grand Duke of Baden
Reign	30 March 1830 – 24 April 1852
Predecessor	Louis I
Successor	Louis II
Born	Count Leopold von Hochberg; 29 August 1790; Karlsruhe Palace, Karlsruhe,; Margraviate of Baden,; Holy Roman Empire
Died	24 April 1852 (aged 61); Karlsruhe Palace, Karlsruhe,; Grand Duchy of Baden,; German Confederation
Spouse	Princess Sophie of Sweden (m. 1819)
Issue; Detail	Alexandrine, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Prince Louis; Louis II, Grand Duke of Baden; Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden; Prince William; Prince Karl; Marie, Princess of Leiningen; Cecile Auguste, Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia;
House	Zähringen
Father	Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden
Mother	Louise Caroline of Hochberg
Religion	Lutheranism

Leopold (29 August 1790 – 24 April 1852) succeeded in 1830 as the Grand Duke of Baden, reigning until his death in 1852.

Although a younger child, Leopold was the first son of Margrave Karl Friederich of Baden by his second, morganatic wife, Louise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg. Since Luise Karoline was not of equal birth with the Margrave, the marriage was deemed morganatic and the resulting children were perceived as incapable of inheriting their father's dynastic status or the sovereign rights of the Zähringen House of Baden. Luise Karoline and her children were given the titles of baron and baroness, in 1796 count or countess von Hochberg.

Baden gained territory during the Napoleonic Wars. As a result, Margrave Karl Friederich was elevated to the title of Prince-Elector within the Holy Roman Empire. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, he took the title Grand Duke of Baden.