Bezirk Altona
He was born at Klein-Flottbeck, Holstein (now part of Altona, Hamburg). His father, Bernhard Ernst von Bülow, was a Danish and German statesman and member of the Bülow family. His brother, Major-General Karl Ulrich von Bülow, was a cavalry commander during World War I . Bülow attributed his grasp of English and French to having learnt it from governesses as a young child. His father spoke French, and his mother spoke English, as was common in Hamburg society.