Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Notes:

Frederick V (German: Friedrich V.; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632)[1][2] was, as the son and heir of Frederick IV, Elector Palatine, the Elector of the Rhine Palatinate in the Holy Roman Empire upon his father's death in 1610. In 1619 the Protestant estates of Bohemia rebelled against the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and offered the crown of Bohemia to Frederick as an influential member of the Evangelical Union, an organisation founded by his father for the protection of Protestants in the Empire. After accepting the crown as Frederick I (Czech: Fridrich Falcký), he was abandoned by his allies in the Union and his brief reign as the King of Bohemia ended with his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain - only two months after his coronation - and earned him the derisive nick name of 'the Winter King' (Czech: Zimnâi krâal; German: Winterkèonig). This defeat was followed by an Imperial invasion of Frederick's Palatinate lands and he was forced to flee to Holland in 1622, being formally deprived of them in 1623 by Imperial edict. He lived the rest of his life in exile with his wife and family at the Hague.

Frederick was born at the Jagdschloss Deinschwang (a hunting lodge) near Amberg in the Upper Palatinate. He was the son of Frederick IV and of Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau, the daughter of William the Silent and Charlotte de Bourbon-Montpensier. An intellectual, a mystic, and a Calvinist, he succeeded his father as Prince-Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate in 1610. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Hortus Palatinus gardens in Heidelberg.

In 1618 the largely Protestant estates of Bohemia rebelled against their Catholic King Ferdinand, triggering the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War. Frederick was asked to assume the crown of Bohemia. He accepted the offer and was crowned on 4 November 1619.[1] The estates chose Frederick since he was the leader of the Protestant Union, a military alliance founded by his father, and hoped for the support of Frederick's father-in-law, James VI of Scotland and I of England. However, James opposed the takeover of Bohemia from the Habsburgs and Frederick's allies in the Protestant Union failed to support him militarily by signing the Treaty of Ulm (1620). His brief reign as King of Bohemia ended with his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain on 8 November 1620 – a year and four days after his coronation.

After this battle, the Imperial forces invaded Frederick's Palatine lands and he had to flee to his uncle Prince Maurice, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic in 1622. An Imperial edict formally deprived him of the Palatinate in 1623. He lived the rest of his life in exile with his wife and family, mostly at The Hague, and died in Mainz in 1632.

His eldest surviving son Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine returned to power in 1648 with the end of the war. His daughter Princess Sophia was eventually named heiress presumptive to the British throne, and was the founder of the Hanoverian line of kings.

Frederick married Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia on 14 Feb 1613 in Whitehall Palace, Westminster, England. Elizabeth (daughter of James of Scotland, VI and I, King of Scots, King of England and Anne of Denmark) was born on 19 Aug 1596 in Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland; died on 13 Feb 1662 in London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Sophia of Hanover, Electress of Hanover was born on 14 Oct 1630 in The Hague, Netherlands; died on 8 Jun 1714 in Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover, Germany.