Henry III (1533 – 19 January 1598), 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 Lüneburg 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 ...

from 1559 until 1569, jointly with his brother William the Younger. From 1569, he ruled over the Lordship of Dannenberg until his death. He was the second surviving son of Duke

Ernest I of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Ernst der Bekenner; 27 June 1497 – 11 January 1546), also frequently called Ernest the Confessor, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a champion of the Protestant cause during the early years of the Prote ...

and assumed the rule in the

Principality of Lüneburg The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory ...

upon the early death of his elder brother Francis Otto in 1559. He and his younger brother William fell out with each other in 1569, when Henry married the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

princess Ursula of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a '' reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme so ...

(1545–1620), daughter of Duke

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

, and demanded the partition of the Lüneburg lands. He eventually waived his claims to the Lüneburg principality and received Dannenberg as a

paréage In Medieval France a ''paréage'' or pariage was a feudal treaty recognising joint sovereignty over a territory by two rulers, who were on an equal footing, ''pari passu''; compare peerage, peer. On a familial scale, ''paréage'' could also refer ...

as well as an annual payment in compensation. He also ensured that his descendants were entitled to inherit the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel estates upon the extinction of the line; therefore, his youngest son

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

could assume the rule in

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 ...

in 1635. Henry died in Dannenberg.

Marriage and children who reached adulthood

In 1569 Henry married Ursula of Saxe-Lauenburg (*1545 – 22 October 1620*,

Schernebeck Schernebeck is a village and a former municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 31 May 2010, it is part of the town Tangerhütte Tangerhütte () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. I ...

), daughter of

Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg (1510 – 19 March 1581, Buxtehude) was the eldest child and only son of Duke Magnus I of Saxe-Lauenburg and Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1488 – 29 July 1563, Neuhaus), daughter of Duke Henry IV ' ...

. They had the following children: * Julius Ernest (1571–1636) * Francis (1572–1601) Provost of Strasbourg * Anne Sophie (1573–1574) * Heinrich (1574–1575) * Sybil Elizabeth (1576–1630), married

Anthony II, Count of Delmenhorst Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...

* Sidonia (1577–1645) *

(1579–1666) {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 03, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg Princes of Lüneburg 1533 births 1598 deaths Middle House of Lüneburg New House of Brunswick