Following Henry's resignation ten years later, William officially reigned alone until his death in 1592, but due to serious mental problems, he only played a very limited part in political life and spent his last years in mental derangement. His rule, like his father's, was dominated by an enforced policy of debt relief. But reconciliation with the town of Lüneburg in 1562 and the associated acquisition of part of the principality's debt and imperial taxes by the town played a major role in easing the parlous financial situation. Further important reforms included the Lutheran Church Order, adopted in 1564, which practically completed the Reformation in Lüneburg, as well as the aulic court and administrative ordinances (the Hofgerichtsordnung and Polizeiordnung).
