Philip the Contentious () (12 November 1503,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

– 4 July 1548, Heidelberg), a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was a titular

Count Palatine of the Rhine This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...

and ruling

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km2, with a population of some 100,000. History The Du ...

from 1505 to 1541.

Life

Philip was the youngest son of Ruprecht, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and his wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut, daughter of George, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut. Conflicting with imperial law and the inheritance treaty with the dukes of

Bavaria-Munich Bavaria-Munich () was a duchy that was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1505. History After the death of Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria, Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria, Stephen III, Frederick, D ...

, Duke George had attempted to pass his lands of

Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-Landshut () was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503. History The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided up Louis's empire, his ...

to his daughter Elisabeth. This led to the

Landshut War of Succession The War of the Succession of Landshut (''Landshuter Erbfolgekrieg'' in German) resulted from a dispute between the Duchies of Bavaria-Munich (''Bayern-München'' in German) and Bavaria-Landshut (''Bayern-Landshut''). Background George, Duk ...

in 1503, in which the forces of Elisabeth and her husband Rupert were defeated. Elisabeth and Rupert died in quick succession in the fall of 1504. In the Arbitration of Cologne in 1505, Emperor Maximilian I awarded as compensation for the territorial losses, a small state known as

(from the territories of Lower Bavaria) to the two sons of Elisabeth. Philip ruled this territory along with his older brother, Duke Otto Henry. In 1529, he successfully fought the Turks during the Siege of Vienna at the head of two regiments and was made a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

two years later. On 8 December 1539, Philip visited the court of King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, with the hope of obtaining the hand of the King's daughter Lady Mary Tudor. This potential match was part of King Henry's plans of an alliance with the Protestant German Princes against the Emperor. For all his intents and purposes, Philip does seem to have been genuinely drawn to Lady Mary for herself. They met on 17 December in

Hertford Castle Hertford Castle is a Norman era castle built beside the River Lea in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England. Most of the internal buildings of the structure have been demolished. The main surviving section is the Tudor gatehouse ...

, where he presented her with a gift and kissed her. Such familiarity gave rise to the belief that the two would wed, and the majority of the English court expected a wedding within the coming months. However, King Henry did not allow this match to succeed, due to the fact that the Duke was related to queen consort

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

, Henry’s fourth wife. The Duke was both paternally and maternally her third cousin, sharing as ancestors

Frederick II, Elector of Saxony Frederick II, The Gentle (''Friedrich, der Sanftmütige''; Frederick the Gentle; 22 August 1412 – 7 September 1464) was Elector of Saxony (1428–1464) and was Landgrave of Thuringia (1440–1445). Biography Frederick was born in Leipzig, th ...

, and Margarete of Austria. Surprisingly, given their differing religious views, Lady Mary showed affection towards the Duke, as she kissed him out of court. The Duke was later sent back to his land.James Gairdner. ''Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII,'' Volume 14 Part 2: August–December 1539, 1895. The plan did not come to fruition. Philip, however, was not deterred, and he visited England three more times; but only once more did he get to see Lady Mary.

Ancestry

Pop Culture

Philip was portrayed by

Colin O'Donoghue Colin O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Hook, Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon a Time''. He appeared in the horror film, ...

for ''

The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...

'' in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Duke Of Palatinate-Neuburg 1503 births 1548 deaths Military personnel from Heidelberg House of Wittelsbach Nobility from Heidelberg Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg People of the Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary (1526–1568)