[July 5] Albert VI, duke of Bavaria-Leuchtenberg

Wittelsbach family coat of arms

Parents: William V, duke of Bavaria, and Renata of Lorraine
Date of Birth: 26 February 1584
Royal House: Wittelsbach
Spouse: Mechthilde, daughter of Georg Ludwig, landgrave of Leuchtenberg, and Marie Salome of Baden-Baden
Predecessor: Georg
Reign: 1646 – 1650
Summary: A minor duke of the Bavarian line of the Wittelsbachs, Albert married into his true inheritance which he gained in 1646. He was the youngest son of William V, duke of Bavaria, and as such he had a fourth share of the Bavarian estate. To avoid dividing the lands, William married his son off to Mechthilde, the heiress of the small neighboring landgraviate of Leuchtenberg. His two older, but not eldest, brothers both became clerics, the elder becoming the bishop of Regensburg and a cardinal, the younger the prince-elector of Cologne. Albert, meanwhile, got a small portion of the family estate. He obtained his wife's estates in 1646 but traded them with his brother for the county of Haag in 1650. Leuchtenberg passed to the second son of his brother and then to Bavaria. Haag remained in Albert's family until his own son, Maximilian Heinrich, who was also prince-elector of Cologne, died in 1688, after which Haag was also inherited into Bavaria. When his eldest brother, Maximilian, died in 1651, Albert served as regent for his nephew, the young Ferdinand Maria. Nothing important is noted about Albert's reign in Bavaria or Leuchtenberg.
Date of Death: 5 July 1668
Successor: Maximilian II (in Leuchtenberg), Maximilian Heinrich (in Haag)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Charles III, count of Alençon (1375)