diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
index 01a69266..83287905 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
@@ -787,6 +787,12 @@ void String::detach()
   if(d->count() > 1)
     String(d->data.c_str()).swap(*this);
 }
+
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// private members
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+
+const String::Type String::WCharByteOrder = wcharByteOrder();
 }
 
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h
index 97e9ff66..b1be04b8 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h
@@ -536,6 +536,13 @@ namespace TagLib {
     void detach();
 
   private:
+    /*!
+     * \deprecated This variable is no longer used, but NEVER remove this. It
+     * may lead to a linkage error.
+     */
+     // BIC: remove
+    static const Type WCharByteOrder;
+
     class StringPrivate;
     StringPrivate *d;
   };