Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen

Duke Philip II of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (born: 2 May 1533; died: 4 April 1596) was from 1595 to 1596 Prince of Grubenhagen. When he died in 1596, the Grubenhagen line of the House of Guelph died out.

Philip II was one of the many children of his father Philip I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and his wife Katherine Mansfield (1501–1535). Philip II was the youngest of nine siblings, six of whom reached adulthood. After the Philip I's death in 1551, he was first succeeded in government by his eldest son Ernest III. After Ernest's death in 1567 Philip's son Wolfgang succeeded. When Wolfgang died in 1595 without male descendants, Philip II succeeded. When Philip died without a male heir, Grubenhagen fell to Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Philip II was married to Clara of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, (born: 16 November 1532; died: 23 November 1595). In 1595 he moved his residence from Katlenburg Castle to Herzberg Castle. When he died childless after a short reign in 1596, the Grubenhagen side-line of the House of Guelph died out and the Principality of Grubenhagen was annexed by Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The Lüneburg line of the Guelphs objected to the annexation and took the matter to the Reichskammergericht. The Lüneburg side won the case, and in 1617, Henry Julius's son Frederick Ulrich had to cede Grubenhagen to Duke Christian the Elder of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

His final resting place is next to his parents and brothers in the crypt of St. Giles Church in Osterode am Harz. His wife Clara also died in 1596.

Ancestors

References

• Paul Zimmermann: Das Haus Braunschweig-Grubenhagen, Wolfenbüttel, 1911
• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.

External links

• Information about Philip II at www.welfen.de