Grumbkow came from a family of Pomeranian nobility whose first mention was the brothers Bisbranus, Gneomarus and Tezlaus in 1277. Grumbkow served in both the Brandenburg army and the civil administration of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. A cavalry regiment he created and led in 1674 became the Dragoon Life Guards. Until 1918, the regiment was the 1. Schlesisches Leib-Kürassier-Regiment "Großer Kurfürst", based in Breslau.