Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Encyclopedia
Charles Louis, Elector Palatine KG
(22 December 1617 – 28 August 1680) was the second son of Frederick V
of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth
, daughter of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland)
.
, he spent much of the 1630s at the court of his uncle
in England, hoping to enlist English support for his cause. The young Elector Palatine was largely unsuccessful in this, and became gradually estranged from the King, who feared that Charles Louis might become a focus for opposition forces in England. Indeed, in the English crisis leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War
, Charles Louis had considerable sympathy for the parliamentary leaders, especially the Earl of Essex
, feeling them more likely to come to the aid of the Palatinate on the continent. The Prince Palatine supported the execution of Strafford
. Although Charles Louis was involved in the early stages of the Civil War with his uncle, he was mistrusted for his parliamentary sympathies, and soon returned to his mother in The Hague
. There he distanced himself from the royalist cause in the Civil War, fearing that Charles would sell him out for Spanish support.
In 1644, Charles Louis returned to England at the invitation of Parliament. He took up residence in the Palace of Whitehall
and took the Solemn League and Covenant
, even though his brothers, Rupert
and Maurice, were Royalist generals. Contemporaries (including King Charles) and subsequent generations believed that Charles Louis' motive in visiting Roundhead London was that he hoped that Parliament would crown him King, in place of his uncle. Charles Louis' endorsement of the Parliamentary party was a cause of enmity between uncle and nephew, and when a captive Charles I met his nephew once again in 1647, the elder Charles accused the Prince of angling after the English throne. Charles Louis was still in England in October 1648 when the Peace of Westphalia
restored the Lower Palatinate to him (the Upper Palatinate, to his great disappointment, remained under the Elector of Bavaria). He remained in England long enough to see the execution of his uncle Charles I in January 1649, which appears to have come as a shock (nevertheless, the two had not reconciled prior to the King's death - Charles refused to see his nephew before his execution).
After this unhappy dénouement to Charles Louis's dubious participation in English politics, he at last returned to the now devastated Palatinate in the autumn of 1649. Over the more than thirty years of his reign there, he strove with some success to rebuild his shattered territory. In foreign affairs, he pursued a pro-French course, marrying his daughter Elizabeth Charlotte to Monsieur, Louis XIV's brother, in 1671. After his restoration, his relations with his relatives continued to deteriorate - his English relations never forgave him for his equivocal course in the Civil War, while his mother and siblings resented his parsimony.
The most notable facet of his reign was probably his unilateral divorce of his wife, Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
, and subsequent bigamous marriage to Marie Luise von Degenfeld
. This second wife was given the unique title of Raugravine (Raugräfin, countess of uninhabited or uncultivated lands), and their children were known as the Raugraves.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(22 December 1617 – 28 August 1680) was the second son of Frederick V
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....
of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, daughter of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland)
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
.
Biography
After the death of his older brother in 1629, and of his father in 1632, Charles Louis inherited his exiled father's possessions in the Palatinate. Along with his younger brother Prince RupertPrince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
, he spent much of the 1630s at the court of his uncle
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in England, hoping to enlist English support for his cause. The young Elector Palatine was largely unsuccessful in this, and became gradually estranged from the King, who feared that Charles Louis might become a focus for opposition forces in England. Indeed, in the English crisis leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Charles Louis had considerable sympathy for the parliamentary leaders, especially the Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
, feeling them more likely to come to the aid of the Palatinate on the continent. The Prince Palatine supported the execution of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...
. Although Charles Louis was involved in the early stages of the Civil War with his uncle, he was mistrusted for his parliamentary sympathies, and soon returned to his mother in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. There he distanced himself from the royalist cause in the Civil War, fearing that Charles would sell him out for Spanish support.
In 1644, Charles Louis returned to England at the invitation of Parliament. He took up residence in the Palace of Whitehall
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire...
and took the Solemn League and Covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
, even though his brothers, Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
and Maurice, were Royalist generals. Contemporaries (including King Charles) and subsequent generations believed that Charles Louis' motive in visiting Roundhead London was that he hoped that Parliament would crown him King, in place of his uncle. Charles Louis' endorsement of the Parliamentary party was a cause of enmity between uncle and nephew, and when a captive Charles I met his nephew once again in 1647, the elder Charles accused the Prince of angling after the English throne. Charles Louis was still in England in October 1648 when the Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
restored the Lower Palatinate to him (the Upper Palatinate, to his great disappointment, remained under the Elector of Bavaria). He remained in England long enough to see the execution of his uncle Charles I in January 1649, which appears to have come as a shock (nevertheless, the two had not reconciled prior to the King's death - Charles refused to see his nephew before his execution).
After this unhappy dénouement to Charles Louis's dubious participation in English politics, he at last returned to the now devastated Palatinate in the autumn of 1649. Over the more than thirty years of his reign there, he strove with some success to rebuild his shattered territory. In foreign affairs, he pursued a pro-French course, marrying his daughter Elizabeth Charlotte to Monsieur, Louis XIV's brother, in 1671. After his restoration, his relations with his relatives continued to deteriorate - his English relations never forgave him for his equivocal course in the Civil War, while his mother and siblings resented his parsimony.
The most notable facet of his reign was probably his unilateral divorce of his wife, Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel
Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel was the consort of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine and mother of Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate...
, and subsequent bigamous marriage to Marie Luise von Degenfeld
Marie Luise von Degenfeld
Luise von Degenfeld was the morganatic second wife of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine. Created Raugräfin von der Pfalz in 1667, she had thirteen children with Charles Louis, all of whom were known as the "Raugraves" of the Palatinate.Born Maria Susanne Luise von Degenfeld in Strasbourg,...
. This second wife was given the unique title of Raugravine (Raugräfin, countess of uninhabited or uncultivated lands), and their children were known as the Raugraves.
Ancestry
Family
| Partner 1 | Unknown | |||||||||||||
| Children | 1. Ludwig von Seltz (1643–1660) | |||||||||||||
| Wife 1 | Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel was the consort of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine and mother of Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate... , 20 November 1627-16 March 1686, Kassel Kassel Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :... | |||||||||||||
| Married | 22 February 1650 Kassel Kassel Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :... | |||||||||||||
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| Wife 2 | Marie Luise von Degenfeld Marie Luise von Degenfeld Luise von Degenfeld was the morganatic second wife of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine. Created Raugräfin von der Pfalz in 1667, she had thirteen children with Charles Louis, all of whom were known as the "Raugraves" of the Palatinate.Born Maria Susanne Luise von Degenfeld in Strasbourg,... , 28 November 1634-18 March 1677, Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... | |||||||||||||
| Married | 6 January 1658 Schwetzingen Schwetzingen Schwetzingen is a German town situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of... | |||||||||||||
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| Wife 3 | Elisabeth Hollander von Bernau, 1659 - 8 March 1702 Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 .... | |||||||||||||
| Married | 11 December 1679 | |||||||||||||
| Children | 1. Charles Louis von der Pfalz (born 17 April 1681, Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 .... ) |