William, Duke of Brunswick (; 25 April 1806 – 18 October 1884), was ruling duke of the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

from 1830 until his death. William was the second son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and after the death of his father in 1815, was under the guardianship of his paternal great-granduncle King

George IV of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, ...

. He became a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n major in 1823. When his brother,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, was deposed as ruling duke by a rebellion in 1830, William took over the government provisionally. In 1831, a family law 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 Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

made William the ruling duke permanently. William left most government business to his ministers, spending most of his time at Oleśnica Castle in what is now southwestern Poland. While William joined the Prussian-led

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

in 1866, his relationship to Prussia was strained, since Prussia refused to recognize his paternal grandnephew

Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (; 21 September 1845 – 14 November 1923), was the eldest child and only son of George V of Hanover and his wife, Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. Ernest Augustus was dep ...

, as his heir, because of the Duke of Cumberland's claim to the throne of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. William died in 1884; he passed on his private possessions to the Duke of Cumberland. His death caused a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...

for Brunswick that lasted until the accession of his paternal great-grandnephew

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick Ernest Augustus (Ernest Augustus Christian George; ; 17 November 1887 – 30 January 1953) was Duke of Brunswick from 2 November 1913 to 8 November 1918. He was a grandson of George V of Hanover, thus a Prince of Hanover and a Prince of the Unit ...

(a male line descendant of William, the younger brother of Henry, his male line ancestor), in 1913. William died unmarried, but had a number of illegitimate children.

Honours

References

Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1889
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:William, Duke of Brunswick 1806 births 1884 deaths Dukes of Brunswick House of Brunswick-Bevern Members of the Prussian House of Lords Nobility from Braunschweig German Lutherans Prussian Army personnel Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Burials at Brunswick Cathedral