George William was Duke of Prussia for more than three decades through the first third of the tumultuous 17th Century.

He was born on Nov. 13, 1595, in Cölln on the Spree. His father was John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg and later Duke of Prussia. His mother was Anna of Prussia. As his parents' oldest son, George William took on the responsibility of heir apparent. His father became Elector of Brandenburg when the boy was 13 and then later served as regent for the Duke of Prussia, then Albert Frederick. When the duke died, in 1618, John Sigismund assumed the position. He served only briefly, however, dying the following year.

George William had married Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate in 1616. They had three children, all of whom survived into adulthood: Louis Charlotte (1617), Frederick William (1620), and Hedwig Sophia (1623).

In 1620, George William's younger sister Maria Eleonora married King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Prussia at that time was still technically part of Poland. When Poland and Sweden went to war the following year, George William found that defending his own country meant fighting against his brother-in-law. The conflict involved Prussia only marginally at first, but the final stages of the war directly involved Prussian troops.

War came to northern Germany in 1625, and Prussia suffered as a result. Gustavus Adolphus, once his war with Poland was concluded, entered the war on the Protestant side; however, this served only to further ravage Prussia and other German states. Adolphus died, and Sweden offered a new option, the Heilbronn League, which Prussia joined. That, too, proved short-lived. A temporary truce in 1635 provided some breathing room. George William eased into retirement and, a few years later, died, on Dec. 1, 1640. His son succeeded him.