Brunswick-Bevern was a

secundogeniture A secundogeniture (from la, secundus "following, second," and "born") was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch. This was a special form of inheritance in which the second a ...

of the Younger

House of Brunswick The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house ori ...

, itself a branch 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 ...

. Its first member was Ferdinand Albert I of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1636–1687), the fourth son of Duke Augustus the Younger, ruling

Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. Upon the death of his father in 1666 and a lengthy dispute with his elder brothers, Ferdinand Albert I received Bevern Palace near

Holzminden Holzminden (; nds, Holtsminne) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Histor ...

as part of his inheritance. In turn, he had to waive all rights and claims to rule in the Welf

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (german: Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 ...

. Nevertheless, the Bevern line came to power in the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel when the main line of the Younger House of Brunswick became extinct with the death of Duke Louis Rudolph in 1735. Ferdinand Albert II, fourth son of Ferdinand Albert I who had succeeded his father in Bevern in 1687, ascended to the throne. At that time, he passed the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

of Brunswick-Bevern to his younger brother Ernest Ferdinand (1682–1746), who thereby became head of the Younger Brunswick-Bevern line. His sons Augustus William and Frederick Charles Ferdinand held the secundogeniture until 1809. The main Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel line became extinct with the death of Duke

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

in 1884.''Braunschweig-Bevern''
at www.zeno.org. Accessed on 9 Oct 2010.

Dukes of Brunswick-Bevern

* 1666-1687: Ferdinand Albert I ** 1687-1735: Ferdinand Albert II ** 1735–1746: Ernest Ferdinand *** 1746–1781: Augustus William *** 1781–1809: Frederick Charles Ferdinand

References

{{Reflist Brunswick-Bevern 1666 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire