Frederick Henry, Electoral Prince of the Palatinate, (german: Heinrich Friedrich; 1 January 1614 – 7 January 1629 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) was the eldest son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and so-called "Winter King" of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, and his wife, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King

James VI of Scotland and I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. As soon as the prince was born, Elizabeth ordered "pieces" using the English word, meaning the firing of cannon to celebrate the birth. He was named after his father and his late uncle Henry, Prince of Wales, who had died less than two years earlier during the celebrations leading up to his parents' wedding. As a gift to celebrate Frederick Henry's birth, King James rewarded Elizabeth with a pension of 12,000

crowns A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

a year for life and money and gold worth an additional 25,000 crowns. In 1618, Frederick was elected King of Bohemia. Frederick Henry was the only one of his siblings to accompany his parents to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

for the coronation and was elected successor to the Crown a few days before the birth of his brother

Rupert Rupert may refer to: People * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada *Rupert, Quebec, a village *Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert' ...

. In September 1620, he was sent on a royal progress through Bohemia and the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

with a guard of 4,000 men, which ended in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

where his kinsman

Ernst Casimir Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Le ...

Stadtholder of Friesland This is a list of stadtholders ( nl, stadhouders, german: Statthalter) or governors (french: gouverneurs) in the Low Countries, or historical Netherlands region. This includes all the territories in the Low Countries that were acquired by the H ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

and

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

, took custody of him. After his parents lost control of Bohemia and the Palatinate, they fled to exile in the

Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. Frederick Henry joined them by May 1621, when he wrote a letter from the Hague to King James. In June 1623, his parents set up a separate royal court for their children at a building three hours away in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

, known as the Prinsenhof or the Princes' court. Frederick Henry also formally enrolled as a student at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. As part of various efforts to fight or negotiate an end to the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...

, several potential marriages were considered for Frederick Henry. These include marriages to a daughter of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Ferdinand II and a niece of

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

, Duke of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. In 1629, Frederick Henry went with his father to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

to see the captured Spanish treasure fleet. While crossing Haarlemmermeer, their boat was struck by a barge and capsized. Frederick was rescued but Frederick Henry drowned and his body was not found until the next day. He was buried in the Kloosterkerk, in the Hague.

Ancestry

References

External links

Frederick Henry von der Pfalz at www.thepeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Frederick, Hereditary Prince Of The Palatinate House of Palatinate-Simmern Deaths by drowning 1614 births 1629 deaths Princes of the Palatinate Accidental deaths in the Netherlands Heirs apparent who never acceded 17th-century German people Bohemian princes Royalty who died as children Sons of kings