Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg

Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg
Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg
	Agnes of Brandenburg; Catherine of Brandenburg; Countess Elisabeth Christine of Meggau
Father	Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg
Mother	Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg (2 May 1594 - 30 November 1660 in Neuhaus) was a prince of Saxe-Lauenburg and a general during the Thirty Years' War.

Life

Francis Charles was a son of the Duke Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg (1547–1619) from his second marriage to Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

In 1619, Francis Charles and his brothers confirmed in an inheritance contract that their elder half-brother Augustus would inherit all of Saxe-Lauenburg. Francis Charles went into military service, and after serving in various armies, he eventually joined the Protestant army of Count Ernst von Mansfeld. With this army, he fought in Bohemia against Emperor Ferdinand II. Three of his brothers served in the imperial army opposing him.

In 1623, Francis Charles' elder brother

Wallenstein

to help him seek another reconciliation with the Emperor.

On 19 September 1628 Francis Charles married

Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden had landed in Pomerania in 1630, Francis Charles entered his service as a colonel. Francis Charles was captured at the residence of his brother Augustus in Ratzeburg by the imperial general Pappenheim, but was soon back in Swedish service as a colonel. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, Francis Charles switched sides and joined the army of the Electorate of Saxony

. This allowed him to reconcile with the Emperor once again.

In 1637, Francis Charles converted to

Gábor Bethlen

. His second wife sold all her Hungarian possessions and moved with her husband to Germany, where she died in 1649. Francis Charles remarried in 1651 Countess Elisabeth Christine of Meggau, widow of the Baron Adolf Christoph of Teuff. After leaving the military service he toured Italy. He died in Saxe-Lauenburgian Neuhaus and, despite his three marriages, he left only children born out of wedlock.