<Charles was chased from his ancestral home in 1830 thanks to his spectacular “indiscretions.” He was obsessively concerned about recovering his lands, trying to foment revolution and even considering using his vast funds to mount a naval expedition to take back his (landlocked) duchy. This is not some weird slur, but part of his own rambling speech during his court case when he tried to win back his lands. He notes that his adversaries want to throw him into a madhouse, and emphasizes that his threat of attempting to recover his territory by a naval expedition was not an idle or absurd one, and how he could land at Bremen, cross through Hanoverian territory, and get to Brunswick. As one writer from the "Times" described the courtroom scene, “After other remarks not quite relevant to the point at issue,” the ex-Duke said he should have little honor left if he entered into relations with felons, traitors, and incendiaries (his description of his former subjects); he eventually was called to order by the president of the court.

For all I know, the Duke might have been planning an air attack as well. The "Wiener Zeitung" of November 29, 1836 says that the Duke was preparing a balloon to fly across the English Channel. He apparently made the trip, since the "Deutsche Zeitung" of August 20, 1873 mentions this trip, adding that he took his diamonds with him on the ride.>

Bio1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charle...

"Paris, 13. Nov. Der Herzog Karl von Braunschweig erregte gestern großen Scandal im Theatre Italien. Er spielte Schach mit seinen Genosssen während der Vorstellung und machte einen solchen Lärm, dass ihn der Direktor des Theaters auffordern musste, sich ruhig zu verhalten."