Duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Bevern
Ludwig Ernst van Brunswick-Lüneburg-Bevern
Born	1718 Wolfenbüttel
Died	1788 (aged 69) Eisenach
Allegiance	Holy Roman Empire, Dutch Republic
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1737-1784
Rank	Field marshal / captain-general
Commands held	Alt-Wolfenbüttel Infantry Regiment, Dutch States Army
Battles/wars	Ottoman Wars, Second Silesian War, War of the Austrian Succession, Battle of Soor, Battle of Roucoux, Battle of Lauffeldt
Relations	Ferdinand Albert II of Brunswick-Lüneburg (father) Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (brother) Ivan VI of Russia (nephew) Charles William Ferdinand of Brunswick (nephew)

Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Bevern (25 September 1718, Wolfenbüttel – 12 May 1788, Eisenach) was a field-marshal in the armies of the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic. From 13 November 1750 to 1766 he was the Captain-General of the Netherlands, where he was known as the Duke of Brunswick or (to distinguish him from his eldest brother Charles, who succeeded to their father's title of Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg) Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Another brother was Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick who led the Allied Anglo-German army during the Seven Years' War.

He was probably one of the first victims of the media in Dutch history.

He was the third son of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick. He had family ties with various European royal houses. The family was linked by blood to the royal houses in London and Berlin. His brother Anthony Ulrich had married Anna Leopoldovna, a Russian princess and cousin of Empress Anna. (Their son Ivan - Louis' nephew - was appointed Emperor of Russia on his birth). His youngest sister Princess Juliana Maria married King Frederick V of Denmark in 1752. Empress Maria Theresa I, Holy Roman Empress and Wilhelmina of Prussia were his cousin (their mothers were sisters) and niece (her mother was Ludwig's sister Louise Amalie). In addition, Wilhelmina's daughter Louise, married Charles George August, a grandson of Louis's brother Charles. Rarely were royal houses so interrelated other as in his case, and this factor was probably the main reason for his supporting the Dutch policy of neutrality during the Seven Years' War.