George Christian, Prince of East Frisia

Who was George Christian, Prince of East Frisia?

George Christian was a member of the Cirksena family and succeeded his brother Enno Louis as ruler of East Frisia. He ruled from 1660 to 1665. Under his reign, the Cirksena family acquired on 18 April 1662 the hereditary title of Imperial Prince.

George Christian grew up with his brother at the court in Aurich. After 1649, they received further education at the academies of Breda and Tübingen. In Tübingen he met his future wife, Christine Charlotte, a daughter of Duke Eberhard III of Württemberg from his first marriage to Anna Dorothea of Salm-Kyrburg. He could only marry her after had he received the hereditary title of Imperial Prince on 18 April 1662. This gave him the proper rank to marry a Princess of Württemberg, and so the marriage was finally performed on 10 May 1662 in the city of Stuttgart. The union produced only two short-lived daughters during George Christian's lifetime: Eberhardine Katharina and Juliane Charlotte.

Immediately after his accession he was trying to establish his rule, which led to severe conflicts with the Estates. This soon reached the threshold of a civil war and could be settled only by Dutch mediation.