Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

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Louis Rudolph (German Ludwig Rudolf; 22 July 1671 – 1 March 1735), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 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.

[edit] 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: