Augustus William (german: August Wilhelm; 8 March 1662 – 23 March 1731), a member of the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...

, was

Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and ruling Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1714 until his death.

Life

Augustus William was the third, but eldest surviving son of Duke Anthony Ulrich and his consort Elizabeth Juliane, a daughter of Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg. Unlike his father, the young prince was not interested in politics; he studied at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

from 1677 to 1678 and afterwards went on a ''

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

'' from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Nevertheless, in 1681 his uncle, the ruling Prince Rudolph Augustus of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, who himself had no male heirs, adopted him as

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. The agreement annoyed Augustus William's father and led to a growing estrangement between them. Moreover, his right of succession was contested by Rudolph Augustus' son-in-law Duke

John Adolphus of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. The prince temporarily retired to

Langeleben Langeleben is a historical location at 260 m above sea level, in the northern part of the Elm ridge in Lower Saxony, Germany and today belongs to the nearby town of Königslutter am Elm. Langeleben was a crossing point for three ancient roads thr ...

in the

Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

hill range, where he had a hunting lodge erected, probably according to plans designed by

Hermann Korb Hermann Korb (1656, Niese (near Lügde) - 23 December 1735, Wolfenbüttel) was a German architect who worked mainly in the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Life Little is known of his early life. It is generally believed that he started ...

. Meanwhile, he also acted as a Wolfenbüttel envoy to the

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

courts. In 1690 he gave his consent to cede the Brunswick

County of Blankenburg The County of Blankenburg (german: Grafschaft Blankenburg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Blankenburg, it was located in and near the Harz mountains. History County of Blankenburg About 1123 Lothair of Supplinburg, then ...

to his younger brother Louis Rudolph, thus violating the Welf

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

principle. Augustus William succeeded his father as Prince of Wolfenbüttel in 1714. He had his

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...

residence extended, but left political decisions to corrupt ministers. His splendid court severely burdened the public budget. Even though he was married three times, he died childless in 1731 and was succeeded by his brother Louis Rudolph. Despite his marriages, he claimed to have been introduced to the "art" of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

; later falling in love with

Raugrave The Raugraves were a German noble family, which had its center of influence in the former Nahegau. They descended from the Emichones (Counts of Nahegau). History First family in the 12th until 15th centuries The family of the Raugraves (the ...

Karl Ludwig von der Pfalz,Elisabeth Charlotte von Orleans: Briefe aus den Jahren 1676 bis 1706, hrsg. von Wilhelm Ludwig Holland, Stuttgart 1867, Nr. 108, S. 196f., Elisabeth Charlotte an Louise, Raugräfin zu Pfalz (Stiefschwester, 27. Juli 1700) half-brother of Princess Elizabeth Charlotte.

Family

# In 1681, he married Christine Sophie (1654–1695), daughter of Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. # In 1695, he married Sophie Amalie (1670–1710), daughter of Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. # In 1710, he married Elisabeth Sophie Marie (1683–1767), daughter of Prince Rudolph Frederick of

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg The sub-duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg emerged as a collateral line of the House Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. The region of Nordborg (also: ''Norburg'' or ''Nordburg'') is on the island of Als. Historic overview Around 1580 the ...

(he was the son of

Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg (26 November 1581, in Sønderborg – 22 July 1658, in Nordborg) was Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg. Life Frederick was the youngest son of John, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Son ...

Ancestors

References

Article in Zedler's ''Universal-Lexicon'' (in German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg Princes of Wolfenbüttel 1662 births 1731 deaths German LGBT people LGBT royalty New House of Brunswick