interventions by the Archduchess Maria of Bavaria, Ferdinand's mother. Although ten years his senior, Eggenberg soon became Ferdinand's closest friend and confidant, a relationship that was to last all his life. With Eggenberg's help, Archduke Ferdinand was elected Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation in 1619. In his positions as the President of the Geheimrat (Privy Council) and Lord Chamberlain (Obersthofmeister) to his new Emperor, Hans Ulrich, the son of a merchant family from Graz, had risen to become one of the most significant and influential statesmen of his time during the period of the Thirty Years' War. Being something akin to a prime minister according to contemporary political understanding, it is said that between the years of 1619 to 1634, Ferdinand II never made one single significant political decision without seeking the advice of his friend Hans Ulrich, who remained loyal to him throughout the whole of this highly confusing and turbulent period and also throughout the rest of his life. The grateful Emperor rewarded his loyal adviser by bestowing on him the highest honors and ranks of the realm. In 1598, his cousin Ruprecht von Eggenberg and the entire Eggenberg family, including Hans Ulrich, were elevated into the Freiherrnstand (Baron's Estate). In 1620, King Philip III of Spain named Hans Ulrich a Knight of the Golden Fleece. In 1623, Hans Ulrich received a promotion into the Reichsfürstenstand, and the Eggenbergs were from then on of princely rank. By 1628, Hans Ulrich was also named Duke of Krumau. Hans Ulrich reached the pinnacle of his career in 1625 when he was made Gubernator (Governor) of Inner Austria. From this point on, he ruled "in the name of the Emperor" the Inner Austrian Patrimonial Lands with absolute power comparable only to an archduke in political, legal and military matters. He was the only non-Habsburg governor to have ever been awarded and exercised such a position. He was largely responsible for the return to imperial service of Albrecht von Wallenstein, and retired from public life after Wallenstein's assassination. His office also prompted him to commission the conversion of the medieval family castle on the western edge of Graz into a new and glorious residence, Schloss Eggenberg, to appropriately represent his new status. Unfortunately, he died of severe gout in October 1634, before the palace was completed. Alongside his four daughters, Hans Ulrich also produced a male heir to