Elizabeth Stuart

Elizabeth Stuart, born on 19 August 1596 at Dunfermline Palace in Scotland, was the Electress of the Palatinate and briefly the Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. Her marriage to Frederick V was part of the larger religious and political conflicts that ignited the Thirty Years’ War. Elizabeth was the only surviving daughter of James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, and Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. Named in honor of Elizabeth I, she was involved in a scheme of the Gunpowder Plot to replace her father with her on the throne and raise her as a Catholic, which failed. After her husband’s short reign in Bohemia, they lived in exile in The Hague. In her widowhood, Elizabeth returned to England and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Her grandson, George I, ascended to the British throne, marking the beginning of the House of Hanover.

Elizabeth’s education was comprehensive, including natural history, geography, theology, languages, writing, music, and dancing, though she was not taught the classics. Fluent in several languages, she had a particular grace in French, was an excellent rider, and had a talent for writing sincere letters. Her early love of books was notable, and she formed a lifelong friendship with Anne Dudley while under the care of Lord and Lady Harington at Coombe Abbey.