Noble family House of Guelph | Name Louis Duke | |
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Spouse(s) Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen Father Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg Mother Elizabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderborg-Nordborg Born 22 July 1671
Wolfenbuttel ( 1671-07-22 ) Died 1 March 1735(1735-03-01) (aged 63)
Brunswick | ||
Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (German: Ludwig Rudolf) (22 July 1671 – 1 March 1735) ruled over the Wolfenbuttel subdivision of the duchy from 1731 until his death.
Louis Rudolph was the youngest son of Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg. 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 Wolfenbuttel. 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:
Louis Rudolph's descendants include monarchs of WWI 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 Marie Antoinette.