George William, Elector of Brandenburg
| George William | |
|---|---|
 |
|
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Elector of Brandenburg Duke of Prussia |
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| Reign | 1619–1640 |
| Predecessor | John Sigismund |
| Successor | Frederick William |
| Born |
13 November 1595 Cölln |
| Died | 1 December 1640 (aged 45) Königsberg |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate |
| Issue |
Louise Charlotte, Duchess of Courland Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Hedwig Sophia, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel |
| House | Hohenzollern |
| Father | John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg |
| Mother | Anna of Prussia |
| Religion | Calvinism |
George William (German: Georg Wilhelm; 13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was margrave and elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia from 1619 until his death. His reign was marked by ineffective governance during the Thirty Years' War. He was the father of Frederick William, the "Great Elector".
Born in Cölln on the Spree (today part of Berlin), George William was the son of John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg and Anna of Prussia. His maternal grandfather was Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. In 1616 George William married Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. Their only son Frederick William later became known as the "Great Elector". Of his two daughters, the eldest, Louise Charlotte, married Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland, and the younger, Hedwig Sophie, married William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel.
In 1619 George William inherited the Margravate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. He paid his feudal homage in person to the King of Poland, Sigismund III Vasa, in September 1621 in Warsaw (the Duchy of Prussia was a fief of the Kingdom of Poland at the time). The homage was renewed in 1633 after the election of a new Polish king, Władysław IV Vasa. During the Thirty Years' War, the Reformed George William tried to remain neutral between the Roman Catholic forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Protestant principalities. As his sister Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg was queen of Sweden, George William had to maneuver between requests of assistance from his Lutheran brother-in-law King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and his own Protestant counsellors on one side and his Catholic chancellor Count Adam von Schwarzenberg on the other.
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