Editing House of Hanover (section)

=== Prince-bishops of Osnabrück ===
At the end of the [[Thirty Years' War]], the [[Peace of Westphalia]] (1648) awarded the [[Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück]] alternately to a Catholic bishop and to a cadet branch of Brunswick-Lüneburg.<ref name="duggan2011">{{Cite book |last=Duggan |first=J. N. |title=Sophia of Hanover: From Winter Princess to Heiress of Great Britain, 1630–1714 |publisher=Peter Owen Publishers |year=2011 |isbn=9780720614237 |location=London |quote=According to the Peace of Westphalia, the See of Osnabrück was to be held alternately by a Catholic and a Protestant incumbent; the Protestant bishop was to be a younger son of the Brunswick-Lüneburg family.}}</ref> Since the treaty gave cadets priority over heirs and reigning princes, Osnabrück became a form of [[appanage]] (in alternation) of the House of Hanover.

* [[Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] (r. 1662–1698), fourth son of [[George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]
* [[Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany]] (r. 1715–1728), sixth son of [[Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]
* [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany]] (r. 1764–1802), second son of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]]

Osnabrück was [[German mediatization|mediatized]] to Hanover in 1803.