John Philip Frederick of the Palatinate (16 September 1627 – 16 December 1650), was the seventh son of

Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...

(of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

), the "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 ...

, by his consort, the Scottish princess Elizabeth Stuart.Georg Wilhelm Hopf: ''Bayerische Geschichte in Zeittafeln'', Schmid, 1865, S. 134

Early years

Prince Philip was born 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 ...

, where his parents lived in exile after his father lost the

Battle of White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

and was driven from the thrones of both Bohemia and the Palatinate. His father, a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, died on 29 November 1632, when Philip was five years old. He and his older brother Edward were educated at the French court, at the request of his elder brother, Charles I Louis, but were sent back to

by request of their mother after the French temporarily took Charles Louis prisoner.

Scandal and exile

On the night of June 20th, 1646 Prince Philip killed the French exile Lieutenant Colonel Jacques de l'Epinay, Sieur de Vaux, in a duel or fight. Rumours declared that the taunt which had provoked Prince Philip to murder had been a boast of the French Don Juan that he had enjoyed the favours not only of Philip's older sister, the Princess Louise, but also of their widowed mother. In spite of repeated summonses, Prince Philip never appeared to answer the Dutch legal authorities. He became what Elizabeth had sworn that none of her sons should become, a soldier of fortune.

Military career and death

Philip entered the military service of the

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...

with the rank of colonel. He was killed at the Battle of Rethel on 16 December 1650, during the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

. His remains were returned to Sedan and were buried in the Church of Saint Charles.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* Johann Michael von Söltl: ''Der Religionskrieg in Deutschland'', Band 2, J. A. Meissner, 1840, S. 401 ff. (in German) * Carl Eduard Vehse: ''Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation: 4. Abth., Geschichte der Höfe der Häuser Baiern, Würtemberg, Baden und Hessen''; 2. Th, Band 24, Hoffmann und Campe, 1853, S. 101 (in German) {{Authority control House of Palatinate-Simmern Simmern, Edward, Count Palatine of 1627 births 1650 deaths Princes of the Palatinate Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg Sons of kings