Regencies
Following the death of his brother Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg on 10 April 1897, Duke John Albert was appointed regent for his young nephew the new Grand Duke, Frederick Francis IV after his older brother Duke Paul Friedrich had renounced his claim to the regency. He ruled as regent until his nephew came of age on the 9 April 1901 when he assumed personal control of the Grand Duchy.
On 28 May 1907 Duke John Albert was elected regent of the Duchy of Brunswick following the death of Prince Albert of Prussia by the state's diet, accepting the offer he arrived in Brunswick on 5 June 1907. The reason for the regency in Brunswick was that in 1884 when William, Duke of Brunswick died his distant cousin and heir Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover was prevented from taking over the duchy because he refused to renounce his claim to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover which had been annexed by Prussia in 1866.
Shortly after assuming the regency Duke John Albert would walk Brunswick in civilian clothes visiting museums, libraries and other institutions in the duchy, asking questions of people to discover their living conditions. After he became too well known to walk unnoticed he established a weekly audience where people could go and present a petition to him. Duke John Albert also cut down on the expenses of the royal household by cutting the number of servants and retainers to the minimum needed to run the household.
The regency came to an end on 1 November 1913 when Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover's son Ernest Augustus was permitted to ascend to Duchy following his marriage to Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia the only daughter of the German Emperor William II which helped heal the rift between the houses of Hanover and Hohenzollern.
Read more about this topic: Duke John Albert Of Mecklenburg