“The Queen of Hearts” and the Mother of a Dynasty
Elizabeth and Frederick arrived at The Hague in spring 1621 with the remnants of their court. While Frederick continued his military endeavors, it was from this secure base in exile that Elizabeth began her own determined efforts to regain some of what she and Frederick had lost. Over the next twenty years, Elizabeth wrote thousands of letters bargaining and negotiating to restore her family’s fortunes. During these early years at The Hague, Elizabeth earned herself a new title: ‘The Queen of Hearts” as she became the center of chivalrous attention from Duke Christian of Brunswick, and William Craven, 1stEarl of Craven, who were two of her husband’s principle military supporters.
In 1632, after a ten-year hiatus, Frederick once again set out from The Hague to do battle to reclaim his throne, this time in the company of the King of Sweden. He never returned. However, Frederick did not die fighting but was killed instead by an ongoing infection. For three days after hearing of his death, a devastated Elizabeth did not eat, sleep or drink. However, when her brother Charles I offered her refuge in England, Elizabeth refused. She chose instead to remain in The Hague and fight for her children’s rights.
By 1648, the Thirty Years War was over. Elizabeth’s eldest surviving son, Charles finally regained the position of Elector of the Palatinate and a portion of his family’s lost lands under the peace of Westphalia. However, for Elizabeth, there was no return to the good times. Charles refused to allow her back to the Palatinate, as he perceived Elizabeth to be a neglectful and distant mother because of her years of political campaigning. Then, the following year, Elizabeth suffered a further blow when her royal annuity from England ended with the execution of Charles I.
However, after years of isolation and relative poverty, on May 26, 1661, Elizabeth Stuart returned to England. She had no intention of returning to The Hague, and indeed she did not. For on the eve of what would have been her 49th wedding anniversary, Elizabeth Stuart died of a hemorrhage to the lungs caused by pneumonia. Known only as the mother of Prince Rupert, she had so valiantly supported his Uncle Charles I; she was buried quietly in Westminster Abbey. However, although she was dead, Elizabeth Stuart’s story was not yet done.
In 1714, Queen Anne of England, Elizabeth’s great-niece died. The deceased Queen had outlived all her children meaning that the Stuart dynasty died with her. However, as James I’s eldest daughter, the precedence of succession went to Elizabeth Stuarts’s descendants. Most of Elizabeth’s children had died childless or as Catholic converts. However, her youngest daughter, Sophie, had married the Protestant Elector of Hanover. So, on October 20, 1714, Sophie’s son George has crowned as the first Hanover King of England. A secure crown may have eluded Elizabeth Stuart however, she had founded a new royal dynasty- and all subsequent British monarchs, whatever their house, would trace their direct descent from her.
Where Do we get this stuff? Here are our sources:
1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Elizabeth (daughter of James I.) Wikisource
A Point of View: The Winter Queen of Bohemia, Lisa Jardine, BBC News Magazine February 24, 2013
Elizabeth Stuart of Bohemia, the ‘Winter Queen’ Royal Museums Greenwich