Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (28 August 1714 – 4 May 1774) was a German prince and military officer.

Biography

Anthony Ulrich was the second son of

Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

and Princess Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. His mother's sister,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, wife of

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (; ; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully War of ...

, arranged for his marriage to HSH Duchess Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (known as "Anna Leopoldovna"), daughter of Charles Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and granddaughter of Tsar

Ivan V Ivan V Alekseyevich (; – ) was Tsar of all Russia between 1682 and 1696, jointly ruling with his younger half-brother Peter I. Ivan was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was the ...

; and he was taken to Russia in 1733, so that he and Anna could get to know each other. The marriage took place in 1739. This marriage was intended to strengthen the relationships between the houses of

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. In 1740, their infant son,

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

, became emperor as Ivan VI. Initially, Duke Ernst Biron of Kurland was regent, but when rumors surfaced that Biron planned on exiling Anthony and Anna to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, they staged a coup and Anna was named regent. Not long after, a coup in 1741 removed the family from power. The new Empress,

, had Anthony Ulrich, his wife, and their children imprisoned. They remained so for the rest of their lives. The years of imprisonment were hard, and the family was periodically denied many necessary things. Virtually all communication with the outside world, with the exception of a few servants, was banned. The governor of Arkhangelsk regularly visited them to inquire about their health. In 1762, Elizabeth died, and the new Empress

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

offered the Duke permission to leave

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, with the condition he leave his children behind; but he declined. He lost his eyesight before he died. He was buried very discreetly, and the soldiers were forbidden to reveal the place of his burial, but his coffin was decorated with silver. In 1780, the surviving children were released from prison into the custody of their aunt, the Danish queen dowager

Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (Danish: ''Juliane Marie''; 4 September 1729 – 10 October 1796) was List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark and List of Norwegian royal consorts, Norway from 1752 to 1766 as the second con ...

. They were taken to Novodvinsk fortress the night of 27 June and left Russia on 30 June. They settled in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, where they lived in under a comfortable house arrest in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

for the rest of their lives, under the guardianship of Juliana and at the expense of Catherine. Having lived as prisoners, they were not used to social life, and kept a small "court" of 40/50 people, all Danish except for the priest. The pension granted them by Catherine was paid until the last of them died in 1807.

Family

Anthony Ulrich and Anna Leopoldovna had the following children: * Ivan VI (1740–1764) (reigning Emperor 1740–1741) *

Catherine Antonovna of Brunswick Catherine Antonovna of Brunswick-Lüneburg (15 July 1741 – 9 April 1807) was the daughter of Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick and Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia and sister of Ivan VI. She was imprisoned by Empress Elizabeth of R ...

(1741–1807) (released to house arrest in Horsens in Denmark in 1780) * Elizabeth Antonovna of Brunswick (1743–1782) (released to house arrest in Horsens in Denmark in 1780) * Peter Antonovich of Brunswick (1745–1798) (released to house arrest in Horsens in Denmark in 1780) * Alexei Antonovich of Brunswick (1746–1787) (released to house arrest in Horsens in Denmark in 1780)

Ancestry

References

At the House of Welf site (in German)
* Marie Tetzlaff : Katarina den stora (1998) {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick, Duke 1714 births 1774 deaths People from Holzminden (district) House of Mecklenburg-Brunswick-Romanov Generalissimos Imperial Russian Army generals 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Sons of dukes Ethnic German people from the Russian Empire