Friday, April 24, 2009

Incidental Plaidy Lady: Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia (19 August 1596 – 13 February 1662)




Briefly mentioned in Princess of Celle, this Queen, who was a great beauty, was also the mother of Duchess Sophia. She is briefly mentioned in Plaid’s novel through Duchess’ Sophia’s thoughts of her. Apparently, this charming Queen was very much loved by all. In fact, she was known as the ‘Queen of Hearts.’ But to Duchess Sophia, the Queen was not always accessible. She also felt a bit neglected by her, it seemed. The Duchess referred to her mother, the Queen, as preferring the company of her dogs and monkeys as opposed to that of her children…


Elizabeth, Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia, was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth l. she was the eldest daughter of King James Vl of Scotland and James l of England and Ireland and Anne of Denmark (Queen of Scotland, England and Ireland).


At the age of seventeen, she married Frederick V, then Elector of the Palatinate. Six years later, Frederick accepted the crown of Bohemia. Consequently, Elizabeth became Queen of Bohemia.


When driven into exile, the Royal couple moved to Holland, where Frederick would later die, in 1632. Queen Elizabeth would pass away thirty years later. Meanwhile, Duchess Sophia would succeed as Electress and her son, King George would attain the Throne of England. Resulting that from that point on, all monarchs after George l are descendants of this Bohemian Queen of Hearts.


In her youth...






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3 comments:

  1. I remember reading about her in The Princess of Celle and it just clicked who she is... she was also in The Murder in the Tower, though a young, sweet princess.

    I really hate Elizabethan dress and style... especially the hair. She would be lovely if she wasn't dressed that way.

    It's sometimes confusing where the British dynasties originated, especially with the Georges, so this helps sort it out.

    Great post Lucy!

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  2. Thanks Arleigh:) I find that she was a lot more beautiful in her youth-They say she was loved by the people, but when I look at her portrait, she looks kind of austere...

    This does put a bit of the Georges dynasty and descendants into perspective. I'll be posting the "instrumental" soon.

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  3. I want to find out more about this queen! A novel about her has been released in the UK: "The King's Daughter" by Christie Dickason.

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