Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg or Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (5 March 1527 – 14 March 1603) was Duke of Mecklenburg ( -Güstrow) from 1555-56 to 1603.

Early life

Ulrich was the third son of Duke Albrecht VII and

Anna of Brandenburg Margravine Anna of Brandenburg (27 August 1487 – 3 May 1514) was a noblewoman from the Holy Roman Empire. Margravine Anna was the daughter of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and Margaret of Thuringia. She was born in Berlin, Branden ...

. Ulrich was educated at the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n court. Later, he studied theology and law in Ingolstadt. After the death of his father, he took up residence in Bützow and succeeded his cousin Duke Magnus III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin in 1550. Later, he married Magnus's widow, Elizabeth, a daughter of King

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I ( Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Reformatio ...

. His wife was actually a first cousin of his maternal grandmother Elizabeth of Denmark, daughter of

John, King of Denmark John or Hans (; 2 February 1455 – 20 February 1513) was a Scandinavian monarch who ruled under the Kalmar Union. He was King of Kingdom of Denmark, Denmark from 1481 to 1513, King of Kingdom of Norway, Norway from 1483 to 1513, and King of ...

. They were first cousins, twice removed. After the death of Elizabeth he married Anna, daughter of Philip I, Duke of Pomerania. After the death of his uncle,

Henry V, Duke of Mecklenburg Henry V, Duke of Mecklenburg, nicknamed ''the Peaceful'' (3 May 1479 – 6 February 1552), was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg in the region Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the son of Duke Magnus II and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin. Henry ruled jointly ...

, Ulrich participated in the national government, especially during Mecklenburg's participation in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

. It erupted from an inheritance dispute, which was settled by the "Ruppiner dictum" of the Elector of Brandenburg.

Reign

On 17 February 1555, Ulrich succeeded his brother John Albert I in partitioned Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In 1556, he received, while maintaining common state government with his brother, the eastern part of Mecklenburg with the capital in Güstrow, while John Albert received the western part with the residence Schwerin. After the death of his brother in 1576, Ulrich was made guardian of his offspring, among them his nephew and successor in Güstrow John Albert II. Ulrich built the castle at

Güstrow Güstrow (; ) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is capital of the Rostock (district), Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the sevent ...

as his principal residence. Ulrich embodied an educated, modern prince, and was a devout

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. He developed into one of the leading princes of the Mecklenburg dynasty. He left behind, at his death, a fortune of about 200,000

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

. Ulrich participated in the exchange with

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...

and David Chytraeus in the scientific discourse of his time and corresponded with humanists like Heinrich Rantzau. In 1594, as Chief of Lower Saxony imperial circle, he organized military and financial assistance against the Turkish threat. In the dispute between

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 ...

and his brother-in-law Duke John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Ulrich served as a mediator, having excellent relations to both. As Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin he was succeeded by his grandson the last Bishop of Schleswig, Prince Ulrich of Denmark (30 December 1578 – 27 March 1624 in Rühn), who married with Lady Catherine Hahn-Hinrichshagen. Ulrich's granddaughter

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 ...

married

James VI of Scotland 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 Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. In 1598 James VI was anxious to secure the throne of England. He sent his ambassadors to his wife's family and allies, to discuss his right to Elizabeth's throne and that the Princes of Europe should supported him against Spanish claims, with military help if required. Ulrich wrote to James on 20 August with a letter of cautious support, counselling that Elizabeth should name him her successor, and was lukewarm on a definite pledge of arms.Annie I. Cameron, ''Warrender Papers'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1932), pp. 362, 366-8.

Family

Ulrich's only child from his marriage to Elizabeth of Denmark,

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

, married King

. Through her, Ulrich was a grandfather to

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 ...

and a great-grandfather of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulrich Of Mecklenburg, Duke 1527 births 1603 deaths House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin People from Schwerin Ulrich 01 Dukes of Mecklenburg-Güstrow