Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Categories: 1596 births | 1632 deaths | Bohemian monarchs | House of Stuart | Knights of the Garter

Image:Frederick V, king of Bohemia, Gerrit von Honthorst painting (1634).jpg
Frederick is also called the "Winter King" of Bohemia because he reigned for less than three winter months in 1620 after he was installed by a rebellious Protestant faction. He is shown wearing the rarely-seen Crown of St. Wenceslas, and other Boheminan Regalia. Inexplicably, he is shown wearing the ceremonial collar of the exclusive Order of the Golden Fleece for which he, as a non-Catholic, was not eligible and he does not appear in the register of its members. On the table is the Cap representing his separate office as Elector of the Palatinate. Painted by Gerrit von Honthorst in 1634, two years after Frederick's death.

Frederick V (German: Friedrich V.) was Elector Palatine (1610-23), and, as Frederick I (Czech: Friedrich Falcký), King of Bohemia (1619-20). He was the son and heir of Frederick IV and of Louise Juliana von Orange-Nassau, the daughter of William I of Orange and Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier. He was born on August 16 1596 at Jagdschloss (Hunting Lodge) Deinschwang near Amberg and died November 29 1632 in exile in Mainz.

Image:Frederick V.jpg
Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Frederick V succeeded his father as Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate in the Holy Roman Empire in 1610. In 1619 the Protestant estates of Bohemia rebelled against the Roman Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and offered the crown of Bohemia to Frederick, selecting him since he was an influential member of the Protestant Union, an organization founded by his father for the protection of Protestants in the Empire.

Frederick duly accepted the crown, but his allies in the Protestant Union failed to support him militarily. His brief reign as King of Bohemia ended with his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain on November 8, 1620 - only two months after his coronation. This earned him the derisive nickname of 'the Winter King'. After this battle, the Imperial forces invaded Frederick's Palatinate lands and he had flee to Holland 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.

He married Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of James I of England and of Anne of Denmark in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall on February 14 1613 and had the following children:

  1. Frederick Henry (1614-1629)--(drowned)
  2. Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine (1617-1680)
  3. Elisabeth of Bohemia, Princess Palatine (1618-1680)
  4. Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619-1682) of English Civil War fame.
  5. Maurice von Simmern (1620-1652) who also served in the English Civil War.
  6. Louise Hollandine (1622-1709)
  7. Louis (1624-1625)
  8. Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern (1625-1663)
  9. Henrietta Maria (1626-1651)
  10. John Philip Frederick (1627-1650)
  11. Charlotte (1628-1631)
  12. Sophia, Electress of Hanover (1630-1714) heiress of England by the Act of Settlement, 1701
  13. Gustav Adolf (1632-1641)
Preceded by:
{{{before}}}}|before=Frederick IV}} 		{{{title}}}
{{{years}}}}|title=Elector Palatine|years=1610-1623 (1632)}} 		Succeeded by:
{{{after}}}
bg:Фридрих V (Пфалц)

cs:Fridrich Falcký de:Friedrich V. (Pfalz) et:Friedrich V (Pfalzi kuurvürst) eo:Frederiko la 1-a fr:Frédéric V du Palatinat nl:Frederik V van de Palts ru:Фридрих V, курфюрст Пфальцский sv:Fredrik V av Pfalz