by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

There is no one traditional burial site for the Dukes of Brunswick – each of them is buried someplace different. The first Duke, Karl II, is buried in the Brunswick Monument, a mausoleum built specifically at his request in Geneva, Switzerland. The second Duke, Wilhelm, is buried in the crypt at Brunswick Cathedral, one of the traditional burial sites for the House of Brunswick. The last Duke, Ernst August III, is buried in the grounds of the Mausoleum in Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover (link in German), one of the burial sites for the House of Hanover.

Dukes of Brunswick

• Karl II, Duke of Brunswick – reigned June 16, 1815 – September 9, 1830
• Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick – reigned September 9, 1830 – October 18, 1884
• Ernst August III, Duke of Brunswick – reigned November 1, 1913 – November 8, 1918

Following the death of Duke Wilhelm in 1884, the Duchy of Brunswick should have passed to Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover. However, as the Crown Prince refused to give up his claim to the throne of Hanover, the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, refused to allow him to succeed to the dukedom. During the period from 1884 until 1913, two regents – Prince Albrecht of Prussia and then Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin – ruled over Brunswick.

Unofficial Royalty: Duchy of Brunswick Index

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Karl II
Duke of Brunswick
(reigned June 16, 1815 – September 9, 1830)

Unofficial Royalty: Karl II, Duke of Brunswick
Karl was born October 30, 1804, in Brunswick, the son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Marie of Baden. He became Duke of Brunswick at just three months old and was placed under the guardianship of The Prince Regent of the United Kingdom and Hanover (later King George IV). After abdicating in September 1830, he lived in London and Paris before settling in Geneva for the rest of his life. Upon his death, he left his estate to the city, on the condition that they would build a large monument to be used as his mausoleum. He is buried in the Brunswick Monument in Geneva.

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Wilhelm
Duke of Brunswick
(reigned September 9, 1830 – October 18, 1884)

Unofficial Royalty: Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick
Wilhelm was born April 25, 1806, in Brunswick, the second son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Marie of Baden. When his brother was forced from the throne in September 1830, Wilhelm succeeded him. A change to the Family Law the following year formally established him as Duke of Brunswick. As he was not married and had no heirs, a succession crisis ensued when Wilhelm died. The German Emperor refused to acknowledge the closest heir – the Crown Prince of Hanover – as he would not relinquish his claim to the throne of Hanover (which had been annexed by Prussia in 1866). It would be 29 years later before the House of Hanover would succeed to the dukedom. Duke Wilhelm is buried in the crypt of the Brunswick Cathedral.

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Ernst August III of Hanover
Duke of Brunswick
(reigned November 1, 1913 – November 8, 1918)

Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick
Ernst August, the last Duke of Brunswick, was born on November 17, 1887, in Penzing, Austria, the third and youngest son of Ernst August, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark. On May 24, 1913, he married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and had five children. The marriage helped to end a rift between the Houses of Hanover and Hohenzollern which had existed for over 40 years. Several months after the wedding, after his father gave up his claim to the Duchy of Brunswick, Ernst August was created Duke of Brunswick. His reign lasted just five years, ending with his abdication on November 8, 1918. Ernst August died on January 30, 1953, at Marienburg Castle in Hanover. He is buried in front of the Mausoleum in Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover.

Viktoria Luise of Prussia
Duchess of Brunswick

Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria Luise of Prussia, Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick
Viktoria Luise was born on September 13, 1892 at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Augusta Viktoria. She married Ernst August of Hanover in May 1913, and had five children. Several months later, her husband became the last Duke of Brunswick. Surviving her husband for over 27 years, Viktoria Luise died in Hanover on December 11, 1980. She is buried in front of the Mausoleum in Herrenhausen Gardens in Hanover.

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Children of Ernst August and Viktoria Luise

Ernst August of Hanover, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick
March 18, 1914 – December 9, 1987
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August of Hanover, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick
Ernst August married twice – first in September 1951 to Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and had six children. After Ortrud’s death, he remarried, in 1981, to Countess Monika of Solms-Laubach. He died in Pattensen, Saxony, and is buried in the grounds of Schloss Marienburg.

Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover
March 25, 1915 – January 6, 2006
Wikipedia: Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover
Prince Georg Wilhelm married Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark in April 1946 and had three children. Among other things, he served on the International Olympic Committee and the German Olympic Sports Confederation. He died in Munich and is buried along with his wife in the cemetery in Schliersee, just outside of Munich.

Princess Friederike of Hanover
April 18, 1917 – February 6, 1981
Unofficial Royalty: Friederike of Hanover, Queen of the Hellenes
Friederike was the only daughter of Ernst August and Viktoria Luise. In January 1938, she married the future King Paul of the Hellenes. They had three children, including King Constantine II of Greece and Queen Sofia of Spain. She became Queen of the Hellenes upon her husband’s accession in 1947. Queen Friederike died in Madrid following eye surgery. She is buried in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace in Greece.

Prince Christian Oscar of Hanover
September 1, 1919 – December 10, 1981
Wikipedia: Prince Christian Oscar of Hanover
Prince Christian Oscar married Mireille Dutry in November 1963 and had two children before divorcing in 1976. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Prince Welf Heinrich of Hanover
March 11, 1923 – July 12, 1997
Wikipedia: Prince Welf Heinrich of Hanover
Prince Welf Heinrich married Princess Alexandra of Ysenburg and Büdingen in September 1960. He died after a long illness and is buried in the cemetery in Büdinger Forest, Waldensberg, Hesse.

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