Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Louis Rudolph
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Spouse(s)	Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen
Noble family	Guelph
Father	Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Elizabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderborg-Nordborg
Born	22 July 1671 Wolfenbüttel
Died	1 March 1735 (aged 63) Brunswick

Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (German: Ludwig Rudolf) (22 July 1671 – 1 March 1735) ruled over the Wolfenbüttel subdivision of the duchy from 1731 until his death.

Louis Rudolph was the youngest son of Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He became a major general in the service of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1690 and was promptly captured in battle by France. After being released the same year, his father gave him the County of Blankenburg as a present, thus violating primogeniture.

In 1707, Blankenburg was raised to a principality of the Holy Roman Empire; in this way, Louis Rudolph became a ruling prince before his elder brother, Augustus William.

On the death of Augustus William in 1731, Louis Rudolph also inherited Wolfenbüttel. After Augustus William had almost ruined the state, Louis Rudolph managed to restore the finances.

Louis Rudolph died without male issue in 1735. He was succeeded by his first cousin, Ferdinand Albert II, who had married Louis Rudolph's youngest daughter, Antoinette Amalie.

Family

Louis Rudolph married Christine Louise, daughter of Albert Ernest I, Prince of Oettingen, at Aurich in 1690. They had the following children who reached adulthood:

• Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1691–1750), married Emperor Charles VI of Austria
• Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1694–1715), married Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia, Peter the Great's son and heir
• Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (14 April 1696 – 6 March 1762), married Duke Ferdinand Albert II of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Louis Rudolph's descendants include monarchs of World War I Allied Powers George V of the United Kingdom, Nicholas II of Russia, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Albert I of the Belgians, Ferdinand I of Romania; monarchs of the Central Powers Wilhelm II of Germany, Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, and Ferdinand I of Bulgaria; also the current monarchs of Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Liechtenstein; and Francis II the last Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Queen Marie Antoinette of France.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               8. Henry III, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       17. Sophia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               4.Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                             18. Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg               9. Ursula of Saxe-Lauenburg                       19. Sybille of Saxony               2. Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                                   20. Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt               10. Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst                       21. Eleonore of Württemberg               5. Dorothea of Anhalt-Zerbst                             22. Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               11. Dorothea Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                       23. Dorothea of Saxony               1. Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel                                         24. Christian III of Denmark               12. John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg                       25. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg               6. Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg                             26. Ernest III, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen               13. Elisabeth of Brunswick-Grubenhagen                       27. Anna Margerite of Pomerania-Stettin               3. Elizabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderborg-Nordborg                                   28. Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt (= 20)               14. Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (= 10)                       29. Eleonore of Württemberg (= 21)               7. Eleanor of Anhalt-Zerbst                             30. Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (= 22)               15. Dorothea Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (= 11)                       31. Dorothea of Saxony (= 23)

References

• At the House of Welf site (German)