George William of Brunswick-Lüneburg
| George William | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg | |
George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
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| Born |
26 January 1624 Herzberg am Harz |
| Died | 28 August 1705 (aged 81) Wienhausen |
| Spouse | Eleonore d'Esmier d'Olbreuse |
| Issue | Sophia Dorothea of Celle |
| House | Hanover |
| Father | George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Mother | Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt |
George William German: Georg Wilhelm (Herzberg am Harz, 26 January 1624 – 28 August 1705, Wienhausen) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He ruled first over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, then over the Lüneburg subdivision. In 1689, he occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg and passed it on to his successors. George William was the father of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of George I of Great Britain.
George William was the second son of George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He had an elder brother, two younger brothers, and several sisters, including Queen Sophia Amalie of Denmark.
In 1648, when his elder brother Christian Louis inherited Lüneburg from their paternal uncle, he gave Calenberg to George William in appanage. When Christian Louis died childless in 1665, George William inherited Luneburg. He then gave Calenberg to his next brother, John Frederick.
In exchange for being freed from the obligation to marry Princess Sophia of the Palatinate, George William ceded Lüneburg to his younger brother Ernest Augustus, settling for the smaller duchy of Celle and promising to remain unmarried so that he would produce no legitimate heir who might pose a challenge to his brother's claim. Ernest Augustus then married Sophia and became the Duke of Hanover.
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