Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Frederick is also called the "Winter King" of Bohemia because his peers derisively thought he would only last through the Winter before he would be overthrown. In fact, his reign lasted just over a year, but the moniker stuck. He is shown wearing the rarely-seen Crown of Saint Wenceslas, and other Bohemian 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.) (August 16, 1596November 29, 1632) was Elector Palatine (161023), and, as Frederick I (Czech: Friedrich Falcký), King of Bohemia (161920). 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.

Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Born at Jagdschloss (Hunting Lodge) Deinschwang near Amberg in the Upper Palatinate, 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—a year and four days 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, before passing away in Mainz in 1632.

Family and children

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 (16141629)—(drowned)
  2. Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine (16171680)
  3. Elisabeth of Bohemia, Princess Palatine (16181680)
  4. Prince Rupert of the Rhine (16191682) of English Civil War fame.
  5. Prince Maurice von Simmern (16201652) who also served in the English Civil War.
  6. Louise Hollandine (16221709)
  7. Louis (16241625)
  8. Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern (16251663)
  9. Henrietta Maria (16261651)
  10. John Philip Frederick (16271650)
  11. Charlotte (16281631)
  12. Sophia, Electress of Hanover (16301714) heiress of England by the Act of Settlement, 1701
  13. Gustav Adolf (16321641)


Preceded by:
Frederick IV
Elector Palatine
1610–1623 (1632)
Succeeded by:
Charles I Louis

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