The poet Sir David Murray, a gentleman of the household of Prince Henry, managed part of the tour, using £1,000 for expenses.

Between 1616 and 1622, he was de facto deposed by his mother, Elizabeth, with the help of her brother, King Christian IV of Denmark, because of his alcoholism; government business was led by Anton von Streithorst, who nearly ruined the state by minting coins from cheap metals and thus causing inflation.

Because of Frederick's indecision and weakness, Brunswick was heavily ransacked during the Thirty Years' War — both by the Catholic forces of Tilly and Pappenheim and by the Protestant forces of Christian of Denmark and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

Frederick Ulrich married Anna Sophia (1598-1659), daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, in 1614.

Anna Sophia spent her widowhood in Schöningen, where she founded a renowned school, the Anna-Sophianeum.