He was a missionary to the Indians when the prince de Joinville, son of Louis Philippe, met him, and after some conversation asked him to sign a document abdicating his rights in favour of Louis Philippe, in return for which he, the dauphin (alias Eleazar Williams), was to receive the private inheritance which was his.
Conrad, called the Great, extended the boundaries of Meissen before abdicating in 1156 in favour of his son Otto, known as the Rich.
He replied by dissolving the ministry without naming another, and by abdicating the crown in favour of the heir apparent, then only five years of age.
For a moment he thought of abdicating rather than of ceding Burgundy.
After the peace of Augsburg, which was published in September 1555, the emperor carried out his intention of abdicating.