Born in Germany, he was a younger son of the famous Marshal Schomberg. From 1663 till 1668 he served, as Lieutenand Colonel, with his father in Portugal. On 3 August 1667 he appears to have married Barbara Luisa Rizzi who, on 24 November 1668 from her lodgings in "The Ould Pall Mell", petitioned the Duke of Buckingham. She enclosed a copy of her marriage certificate and stated that, after living as his wife in France and Portugal, Meinrad had pressed her to "make to him a renounce of the matrimony" and offered "a very good pension" if she consented. On her refusal he had abandoned her seven months gone with child. However, there is no record of how, if at all, the Duke of Buckingham responded.

About 1677 Meinrad was naturalised and became a French subject. Serving in the French army as Marechal-de-Camp, he distinguished himself under Crequi and commanded the vanguard at the battle of Rheinfelden on 7 July 1678.

In Heidelberg on 4 January 1683 he married the Raugraefin Karoline Elisabeth, daughter of the Elector Palatine by his morganatic wife, and by her fathered three children.

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had given protection to the Protestants in France, he served in Hungary against the Turks. Afterwards he entered the service of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, who, in 1687, appointed him General of the Cavalry. However, in August 1689 he joined his father in England and became General of the Horse, for which the pay was œ6 a day. On 12 July 1690 he distinguished himself at the Battle of the Boyne, but then had his horse shot from underneath him at the siege of Limerick in August the same year.

On 3 March 1691 he was created Baron of Tara, Earl of Bangor and Duke of Leinster. He was also naturalised as an Englishman on 25 April 1691. On 30 April 1691 he was appointed ommander-in-Chief, during the king's absence, of all the forces in England, and on 19 July 1691 of
those in Scotland. In 1692 he joined King William III in Holland. In February 1693 he was granted all the wrecks in America between latitude 12 S and 40 N. In 1693 he succeeded his brother, as Duke of Schomberg, and took his seat in Parliament on 7 November 1693.

On 31 January 1694 he obtained a grant of œ4,000 per year.  On 11 August 1703 he became Commander-in-Chief of all the forces to be sentto Portugal and, on 2 September 1703, was installed as Knight of The Garter. He died suddenly, aged seventy-eight, on 5 July 1719 and was
buried in Westminster Abbey.

Source: Leo van de Pas