Philipp Ferdinand of Limburg-Stirum

He was the fifth son of Christian Otto, count of Limburg Stirum and his wife, née Carolina Juliana princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst.

Philipp Ferdinand was megalomaniac, and led a fastuous life in his palace of Wilhermsdorf, inspired by the court of Versailles.

When he heard about the enormous debts of the count, he sent a fiscalist to Styrum to take action in order to avoid future problems.

He also tried to claim territories, like the Herrschaft of Pinneberg in the County of Holstein, and the immediate lordship of Oberstein; which should have become his possession through heritage.

A letter from his brother, Ernst Maria, to the emperor, in which he insisted on all the services the House of Limburg-Stirum had given to the Empire, was enough to have Philipp Ferdinand released.

The court marshal of Philipp Ferdinand, count de Rochefort-Valcourt, told him about this woman who pretended to be the daughter of Elizabeth I of Russia,and granddaughter of Peter the Great.

Philipp Ferdinand had two natural children (a son and a daughter) from his relationship with Marie Therese Satori.