Maximilian William of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Duke Maximilian William of Brunswick-Lüneburg (; 13 December 1666 – 16 July 1726), often called Max, was a member of the House of Hanover who served as an Imperial Field Marshal.

Childhood

Maximilian William was born on 13 December 1666 at Schloss Iburg near Osnabrück. His parents were Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Sophia of the Palatinate, and he was the third of six sons to survive to adulthood. In her memoirs, Duchess Sophia described this childbirth as very difficult; Maximilian William's younger twin brother was stillborn and it was believed that the Duchess would not survive the ordeal for long. The newborn duke was named after the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne Maximilian Henry of Bavaria and the "Great" Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William.

Sophia was a caring mother, but was concerned by Maximilian William's lack of "geist". Her firstborn, George Louis, suspected that she favoured Maximilian William, especially after the latter lost two fingers in a hunting accident.

Disinheritance and plot

Traditionally, the Welf lands were equally divided among sons. In 1684, however, the family agreed to adopt the principle of primogeniture, allowing the entire inheritance to pass to the eldest son and thus preventing further division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg into insignificant statelets. The seventeen-year-old Maximilian William voiced no objection. On his eighteenth birthday, his father signed a contract with the Republic of Venice, whereby he sent him to the Morean War as general of Brunswick-Lüneburg troops and nominal commander of 2400 men. Maximilian William, however, was to be under actual command of a more experienced officer, and that officer was to take orders from the future Doge of Venice Francesco Morosini. The war lasted until 1688.

Maximilian William's elder brother, Frederick Augustus, the second son, was killed in battle in 1691. His death made Maximilian William the Duke's second son and prompted him to claim the right to inheritance he had been deprived of in favour of his eldest brother, George Louis.

Imperial service

Serving the Emperor, Maximilian William converted to Roman Catholicism, in 1692 and rose to the rank of Field Marshal. He commanded the Hanoverian troops in the War of the Spanish Succession and was in command of the cavalry under Eugene of Savoy at the Battle of Blenheim.

Maximilian William died in Vienna on 16 July 1726.

Left an illegitimate daughter by an unknown woman;

Maria Guelf (1695-1740) married Jean Meinet, had issue.

Ancestors