3-002-833 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of Frederick V, Elector of the Rhine Palatinate, c1618. Frederick (1596-1632) of Pfalz, elector Palatine, was courted by Protestant leaders throughout Europe as a promising leader of the Protestant cause. His mother had been a princess of Orange. In 1613, he married Elizabeth Stuart, hoping to secure the support of her father King James I of England. In 1619, he was invited to be king of Bohemia. His vanity overcame his judgment, and he accepted, but, after a few months in power, Frederick and his wife were deposed by Catholic forces. At the invitation of his cousin, Maurits, prince of Orange, the couple fled to the United Provinces, setting up their court in exile at The Hague.