View source for William, Duke of Brunswick

{{Short description|German duke (1806–1884)}}
{{other people|William of Brunswick}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = William
| succession = [[Duke of Brunswick]]
| image = WillemBrunswijk.jpg
| image_size          = 180px
| reign = 9 September 1830 – 18 October 1884
| predecessor = [[Charles II, Duke of Brunswick|Charles II]]
| successor = [[Prince Albert of Prussia (1837–1906)|Prince Albert of Prussia]]<br><small>''(as Imperial Regent)''</small>
| spouse =
| spouse-type =
| issue=
| full name =William Augustus Louis Maximilian Frederick<br />''{{langx|de|Wilhelm August Ludwig Maximilian Friedrich}}''
| house = [[Brunswick-Bevern|House of Brunswick-Bevern]]
| father = [[Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]
| mother = [[Princess Marie of Baden (1782–1808)|Princess Marie of Baden]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1806|4|25|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]], [[Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1884|10|18|1806|4|25|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Szczodre|Sibyllenort]], [[Province of Silesia|Silesia]], [[Prussia]]
| burial_place =
}}
'''William, Duke of Brunswick''' ({{langx|de|Wilhelm August Ludwig Maximilian Friedrich}}; 25 April 1806 – 18 October 1884), was ruling duke of the [[Duchy of Brunswick]] 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]]. He became a [[Prussia]]n major in 1823. When his brother, [[Charles II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Charles]], 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]] 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]] in 1866, his relationship to Prussia was strained, since Prussia refused to recognize his paternal grandnephew [[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover]], as his heir, because of the Duke of Cumberland's claim to the throne of [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]]. William died in 1884; he passed on his private possessions to the Duke of Cumberland. His death caused a [[constitutional crisis]] for Brunswick that lasted until the accession of his paternal great-grandnephew [[Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick]] (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.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

==Honours==
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* {{flagicon image|Flagge Herzogtum Braunschweig (1814-1830).svg}} [[Duchy of Brunswick]]: Grand Master of the [[Order of Henry the Lion]]
* {{flag|Baden}}:<ref name="HandbuchBaden">''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1834), "Großherzogliche Orden" [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1866769 pp. 32], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1866786 49]</ref>
** [[Order of the Zähringer Lion|Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion]], ''1817''
** Grand Cross of the [[House Order of Fidelity]], ''1819''
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: [[Order of the Garter|Stranger Knight of the Garter]], ''20 June 1831''<ref>Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', '''I''', London, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n143/mode/2up p. 54]</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]]: [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''10 February 1833''<ref>''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=30 p. 20]</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Hanover}}: [[Order of St. George (Hanover)|Knight of St. George]], ''1839''<ref name="Hannover1865">{{cite book|author=Staat Hannover|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_bAFTAAAAcAAJ|year=1865|publisher=Berenberg|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_bAFTAAAAcAAJ/page/n56/mode/2up 37]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Oldenburg}}: [[House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis|Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig]], with Golden Crown, ''8 October 1843''<ref>{{cite book|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg0: 1879|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AD6sPIakAuMC&pg=PR1|year=1879|publisher=Schulze|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AD6sPIakAuMC&pg=PA32 32]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: [[Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary|Grand Cross of St. Stephen]], ''1843''<ref>[http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm "A Szent István Rend tagjai"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} [[Ernestine duchies]]: Grand Cross of the [[Saxe-Ernestine House Order]], ''1846''<ref>''Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha'' (1854), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. [https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00245938/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_165771801_1854_0045.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00483206 29]</ref>
* {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}: Grand Cross of the [[Ludwig Order]], ''20 November 1855''<ref name="Hesse">''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen'' (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" pp. [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n34/mode/2up 10], [https://archive.org/details/hofundstaatshan00gergoog/page/n68/mode/2up 44]</ref>
* {{flagicon|Hesse}} [[Electorate of Hesse]]: [[House Order of the Golden Lion (Hesse-Kassel)|Knight of the Golden Lion]], ''14 April 1857''<ref name="Hesse"/>
* {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: [[Order of the White Falcon|Grand Cross of the White Falcon]], ''10 December 1859''<ref>''Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach'' (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. [https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00183908/Staatshandbuch_Film_Nr_14_0018.tif 12]</ref>
* {{flag|Nassau}}: [[Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau|Knight of the Gold Lion of Nassau]], ''June 1860''<ref>''[https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10021632?page=25 Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau]'' (1866), "Herzogliche Orden" p. 9</ref>
* {{flag|Württemberg}}: [[Order of the Crown (Württemberg)|Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown]], ''1860''<ref name="Württemberg1866">{{cite book|author=Württemberg|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Württemberg: 1866|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1wAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP7|year=1866|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=R1wAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA30 30]}}</ref>
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://susi.e-technik.uni-ulm.de:8080/Meyers2/seite/werk/meyers/band/16/seite/0637/meyers_b16_s0637.html Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1889]
* {{Cite ADB|43|4|13|Wilhelm (Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneburg; 1806 bis 1884)|Paul Zimmermann|ADB:Wilhelm (Herzog von Braunschweig-Lüneburg; 1806 bis 1884)}}

{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1=1. '''William, Duke of Brunswick'''
|2=2. [[Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]
|3=3. [[Princess Marie of Baden (1782–1808)|Princess Marie of Baden]]
|4=4. [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick]]
|5=5. [[Princess Augusta of Great Britain]]
|6=6. [[Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden]]
|7=7. [[Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|8=8. [[Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]
|9=9. [[Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia]]
|10=10. [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]]
|11=11. [[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]]
|12=12. [[Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden]]
|13=13. [[Landgravine Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|14=14. [[Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|15=15. [[Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken]]
}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Brunswick-Bevern|House of Brunswick-Bevern]]|25 April|1806|18 October|1884|[[House of Welf]]}}
{{s-roy|de}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Charles II, Duke of Brunswick|Charles II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duchy of Brunswick|Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]|years=1830–1884}}
{{s-vac|next=[[Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick|Ernest Augustus]] <br>—<br>[[Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover|Prince Ernest Augustus]] <br> (titular)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

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