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拍品专文
The arms are those of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
William, 8th Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884), ruled the Duchy from 1830 to 1884. After their father's death in the Waterloo campaign of 1815, William and his elder brother Charles became the wards of their cousin George IV, King of England. As the second son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, William enlisted the Prussian army as a Major in 1823 while his brother reigned in the Duchy. However, following the rebellion that led to Charles's abdication in July 1830, William stepped in as Regent, only to declare himself Duke the next year. In 1831 he was appointed Knight of the Garter by his cousin William IV, King of England.
Despite leaving government business to his ministers and spending much of his time abroad, William managed to remain sovereign when the Duchy was annexed by Prussia in 1866, and again by the German Empire in 1871. Because William was unmarried, it became clear that the senior branch of the House of Guelph would die with him. According to hereditary law, the House of Hanover should have ascended the ducal throne. However, there was strong Prussian opposition to the title passing to George V or his son the Duke of Cumberland because the Hanoverians had refused to accept the Prussian annexation of their kingdom.
Upon William's death in 1884, his title therefore passed to Prince Albert of Prussia, then to John Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg, both of whom served as Regent. The crisis was finally resolved in 1913 when Ernest Augustus III, the son of the Duke of Cumberland, ascended to the title after he married the Kaiser's daughter and swore allegiance to the German Empire. He reigned from 1913 to 1918, when he abdicated, leaving the state of Brunswick free to join the new Weimar Republic.
***CAPTION***
William, Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884), lithograph by V. Katzler, Vienna, 1862
William, 8th Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884), ruled the Duchy from 1830 to 1884. After their father's death in the Waterloo campaign of 1815, William and his elder brother Charles became the wards of their cousin George IV, King of England. As the second son of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, William enlisted the Prussian army as a Major in 1823 while his brother reigned in the Duchy. However, following the rebellion that led to Charles's abdication in July 1830, William stepped in as Regent, only to declare himself Duke the next year. In 1831 he was appointed Knight of the Garter by his cousin William IV, King of England.
Despite leaving government business to his ministers and spending much of his time abroad, William managed to remain sovereign when the Duchy was annexed by Prussia in 1866, and again by the German Empire in 1871. Because William was unmarried, it became clear that the senior branch of the House of Guelph would die with him. According to hereditary law, the House of Hanover should have ascended the ducal throne. However, there was strong Prussian opposition to the title passing to George V or his son the Duke of Cumberland because the Hanoverians had refused to accept the Prussian annexation of their kingdom.
Upon William's death in 1884, his title therefore passed to Prince Albert of Prussia, then to John Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg, both of whom served as Regent. The crisis was finally resolved in 1913 when Ernest Augustus III, the son of the Duke of Cumberland, ascended to the title after he married the Kaiser's daughter and swore allegiance to the German Empire. He reigned from 1913 to 1918, when he abdicated, leaving the state of Brunswick free to join the new Weimar Republic.
***CAPTION***
William, Duke of Brunswick (1806-1884), lithograph by V. Katzler, Vienna, 1862