Elizabeth Stuart was the daughter of James VI of Scotland and his wife, Anne of Denmark. When Elizabeth was six, her father became James I of England and Ireland, succeeding to the crown after the death of Elizabeth I. She was said to have been a happy and pretty child, and before long plans were being made for her future.
Her parents wanted to marry her to a Protestant, but there weren’t many suitable kings, and only a few minor German princes. Eventually, Elizabeth was married at the age of 17 to Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate in Germany. The Electoral Palatinate was a sort of electoral college, whose members chose the next king. It was an extremely prestigious position, second only to the king himself. As leader of the Princes Palatinate, Frederick was also considered the leader of the Protestants in Germany.
Although it was an arranged marriage, the couple appeared to be genuinely in love. They lived at Frederick’s seat in Heidelberg, where Frederick created an English wing in their home especially for his wife, and also gave her a monkey-garden and a menagerie. He began building the Horus Palatinus, an elaborate garden in the Italian Renaissance style, which was all the rage in England at the time. The garden was renowned throughout Europe, and was known at the time as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
A few years later, Bohemia found itself in need of a king. The previous monarch had been deposed by Protestants, and the leaders of Bohemia were looking for a Protestant king. It didn’t seem likely that the Catholics would accept such a ruler, so, understandably, there was a lack of interest in the position among the leading German princes. Frederick was offered the post, and initially was hesitant to accept it. Besides the internal strife, it was likely that his acceptance would mean war with the surrounding Catholic nations.
Ultimately, he did accept and he and Elizabeth, now pregnant with their first child, moved to Prague in November of 1619. The Catholic opposition called him the “Winter King,” predicting that his reign would end by spring. It lasted a little longer than that, but by November, 1620, Frederick and his family were driven from Bohemia and went into exile. Frederick had lost his electorship as well, and they had some difficulty finding a new home. Even Elizabeth’s father did not want them to settle in England. Eventually the family settled in The Hague.
Frederick died there in 1632, and Elizabeth remained in Holland. Her oldest son took over what had formerly had been his father’s electorship. Elizabeth traveled to England at the invitation of her nephew, King Charles II, and spent the rest of her life there.
Elizabeth and Frederick had had 13 children, nine of whom survived infancy. Her youngest daughter, Sophia, was the heir presumptive for the throne of England and Scotland under the Act of Settlement (which settled the succession on the nearest Protestant relative), but she predeceased Queen Anne by only a few weeks. Sophia’s son (and Elizabeth’s grandson) assumed the throne of England on Anne’s death as King George I.
Sources: Chase’s Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition: The Ultimate Go-To Guide for Special Days, Weeks, and Months, Editors of Chase’s Calendar of Events; www.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_19; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_of_Bohemia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortus_Palatinus; http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/Elisabeth.html; http://www.facsnet.org/chambers-volume-5/Elizabeth-Stuart.html; http://anemaa.home.xs4all.nl/ges/english/elizabeth_stuart_winterqueen.htm.