Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Winter Queen

I will never forget my first trip to Heidelberg and learning about Elizabeth Stuart, The Winter Queen. Stephanie Mann has more:
Elizabeth, eldest daughter of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, became Queen of Bohemia on November 7, 1619. She had married Frederick V, Elector of the Palatine on February 14, 1613. The purpose of the marriage was to strengthen James's ties to Protestant rulers on the Continent, easing Parliamentary fears that he was too conciliatory to Catholic rulers. But as might be indicated by their wedding date, it was a romantic and true marriage.

She is called the Winter Queen because her reign as Queen of Bohemia was brief. Frederick was defeated at the Battle of the White Mountain on November 8, 1620. The royal family fled and lived in exile for their rest of their lives. Frederick and Elizabeth had 13 children: seven boys and six girls. Frederick died in 1632, so Elizabeth lived many years as a widow. Two of their sons, Maurice and Rupert, served the Royalist cause during the Civil War. Elizabeth returned to England during the reigns of both her brother (Charles I) and her nephew (Charles II), dying in 1662 on February 12 in London.
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2 comments:

Alexandra said...

She was very pretty.

elena maria vidal said...

She reminds me of her grandmother, Mary Queen of Scots.