Frederick Ulrich (German Friedrich Ulrich, 5 April 1591 – 11 August 1634), Duke of
Brunswick-Lüneburg, was prince of
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District
Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
from 1613 until his death.
Life
Frederick Ulrich was the son of Duke
Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his second wife
Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, the eldest daughter of King
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588.
A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...
. Frederick studied at the universities of
Helmstedt and
Tübingen
Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
.
England in 1610
In March 1610 he visited his aunt
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
in England, staying at
St James Palace with
Prince Henry, who took him to see the ship the ''
Prince Royal'' being built at
Woolwich. He took a tour of the South West, visiting Oxford, Gloucester, Bath, and Bristol where news of the assassination of
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
reached him and ended his tour. The poet
Sir David Murray, a gentleman of the household of Prince Henry, managed part of the tour, using £1,000 for expenses. He attended the masques ''
London's Love to Prince Henry'' and ''
Tethys' Festival''. In April he performed in a tournament "
running at the ring." The Prince of Wales gave him his portrait painted by
Isaac Oliver.
James VI and I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...
gave him a jewel and a ring which the duke gave to
Princess Elizabeth, bought for £1,900 from
Peter Vanlore. After Prince Henry's death in 1612 the duke was sent a suit of gilt armour.
[William Brenchley Rye, ''England as Seen by Foreigners in the Days of Elizabeth & James the First'' (London, 1865), pp. 59, 224-5.]
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
He became ruling duke after the death of his father in 1613. In 1615, Frederick became involved in a war with the City of
Brunswick, which was reluctant to recognize his overlordship.
Between 1616 and 1622, he was de facto deposed by his mother,
Elizabeth, with the help of her brother, King
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...
, because of his
alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
; government business was led by
Anton von Streithorst, who nearly ruined the state by minting coins from cheap metals and thus causing
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
. Because of the bad situation of the state, Christian had Frederick take control of the government again. With the help of the states' nobility, he managed to regain control; the members of the Streithorst government fled the state.
Because of Frederick's indecision and weakness, Brunswick was heavily ransacked during the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
— both by the Catholic forces of
Tilly and
Pappenheim and by the Protestant forces of Christian of Denmark and
. The duke lost most of his territory during this time. He died after an accident in 1634. The principality was eventually ceded to
Augustus the Younger in 1635.
Marriage and family
Frederick Ulrich married Anna Sophia (1598-1659), daughter of
John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, in 1614. They had no children and Frederick tried to get a divorce from Anna, though he died before the divorce was completed. Anna Sophia spent her widowhood in
Schöningen, where she founded a renowned school, the ''Anna-Sophianeum''.
Ancestors
References
External links
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie vol. 7, p. 501-505.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
1591 births
1634 deaths
Princes of Calenberg
Princes of Wolfenbüttel
Middle House of Brunswick