Frederick Henry of the Palatinate was born on 1 January 1614. His birth was celebrated by cannon fire in Heidelberg and bonfires in Scotland. Elizabeth of Bohemia was James VI/I’s daughter and at that time, soon after the death of her brother Prince Henry, the succession did not look as secure as it once had. Elizabeth’s surviving brother, Charles, was a sickly child and it was not certain that he would live to adulthood. The birth of Frederick ensured that there would be a male heir to the Scottish and English thrones. King James was so pleased that he granted his daughter 12,000 crowns per year.

In 1618, when his father became King of Bohemia, Frederick Henry accompanied his parents to Prague for their coronation and in 1620 went on a royal progress through Bohemia and part of the Palatinate. Within two years, the Holy Roman Emperor made war on the Bohemians who had chosen to elect a Protestant king rather than a Catholic overlord. Frederick was sent with his uncle, Louis, and bags containing his mother’s jewels to safety in Holland. It was May 1621 before the prince was reunited with his parents who were now exiles without a kingdom.

As the number of the prince’s siblings increased, a royal nursery was set up at Leiden, known as the Prince’s court. Frederick’s education continued at Leiden University while his parents suggested possible matches for him that would see the Palatinate returned if not to their hands, at least to the Prince Palatinate.

The prince had finished his education when the West India Company, of which Elizabeth was a shareholder, captured a Spanish treasure fleet. The teenager expressed a desire to see it. He and his father, who was not campaigning against the Holy Roman Empire at that time, travelled to Amsterdam. They approached the port as darkness fell. It was cold and foggy. While crossing the Haalemmermeer there was an accident. The Elector was rescued but his son was not. Despite Frederick’s attempts to locate his heir, the body, which had become tangled in rigging, was not found until the next day.

Frederick Henry was privately buried at the Kloosterkerk in The Hague.