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A biography of Prince Rupert, a German-born English soldier, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor in the 17th century. Learn about his family, career, achievements, and legacy in the English Civil War, the Royal Navy, and Canada.
Prince Rupert was the most talented Royalist commander of the English Civil War (1642–51). His tactical genius and daring as a cavalry officer brought him many victories early in the war, but his forces eventually were overcome by the more highly disciplined Parliamentary army.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Early Life and Exile
- The Thirty Years’ War
- The English Civil Wars
- The Royalist Navy
- The Restoration Court
- Art and Science
- The Royal African Company
- The Hudson’s Bay Company
- Children
- Death and Legacy
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Rupert was born in Prague, the fourth of 13 children of Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire, and Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) and Anne of Denmark. In 1619, Frederick was elected king of Bohemia by the landowners representing the states of the Bohemian confederacy, w...
Rupert joined the Dutch military at the age of 14 in an effort to help regain his family’s lands in the Rhine, which had been seized by the Holy Roman Emperor following the Battle of White Mountain. In 1638, Rupert was captured while commanding a Palatine cavalry regiment and was held prisoner in the Holy Roman Empire until 1641. He resisted effort...
Rupert first visited the court of his maternal uncle King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1635. He was a popular figure because of his staunch Protestant faith and plain-spoken manner. When the English Civil Wars broke out between the king and parliament in 1642, Rupert and his younger brother Maurice became prominent commanders in th...
Following a decisive royalist defeat at the Battle of Naseby in 1645, Rupert was banished from England. Charles I was placed on trial by parliament and executed in 1649. During the interregnum, when England was a republic without a monarch, Rupert worked on behalf of his cousin, the future King Charles II. As a privateer captain in the royalist nav...
In 1660, the monarchy was restored in England, and Rupert’s cousin King Charles II became king. Rupert held the titles of Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness and was a prominent figure at Charles II’s court. However, he had little independent income and was always interested in new business opportunities. In 1668, Charles II appointed Rupert ...
Rupert was an enthusiastic amateur scientist and became an honourary member of the Royal Society. His signature appears on the first page of the Royal Society’s Charter Book. He introduced new military technologies to Britain, including new forms of gunpowder and grapeshot, and an early type of machine gun. He invented a diving engine for retrievin...
Rupert had travelled up the Gambia River with the royalist navy in 1652 and remained interested in finding gold there after the Restoration. In 1660, King Charles II granted a charter to the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading to Africa, providing a monopoly over English trade with Africa. Rupert was the first governor of the Royal African Company...
In 1665, Rupert met with Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart des Grosseilliers and learned about their journeys to Hudson Bay. He introduced them to his cousin Charles II. Charles II was initially reluctant to finance their future voyages as he was concerned about conflict with another one of his royal cousins, King Louis XIV of France. Ruper...
Rupert never married, but he had a long-term relationship with actress Margaret Hughes for the last 14 years of his life. They had a daughter, Ruperta (1671–1741), who married Lieutenant-General Emanuel Scrope Howe and had six children of her own. Rupert also had a son, Dudley Bard, (1666–86), who became a military officer and died in battle at the...
The city of Prince Rupert in British Columbia, the Prince Rupert neighbourhood in northwest Edmonton, and Quebec’s Rupert River, which drains into Rupert Bay on James Bay, are named for Rupert. The Hudson’s Bay Companyremains the oldest incorporated joint-stock merchandising company in the English-speaking world. Rupert has received critical scruti...
Learn about the life and achievements of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a nephew of King Charles I of England and a military commander, privateer, governor and explorer. Discover how he crossed the Atlantic, founded the Hudson's Bay Company and influenced Canadian history.
Learn about the life and career of Prince Rupert, a nephew of Charles I and a Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Find out how he fought in the Thirty Years War, the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the West Indies.
Learn about the life and burial of Prince Rupert, a soldier, admiral, scientist and governor of Hudson's Bay Company. He was the son of Frederick V, King of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart, sister of Charles I.
Dec 17, 2013 · Learn about the life and achievements of Prince Rupert, a 17th-century soldier, scientist, artist and cousin of Charles II. See his portraits, mezzotints, battle stories and more.
Learn about the life and achievements of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a Bohemian exile who became a renowned soldier and naval commander in the 17th century. Discover how he fought for the Crown against Parliament in England’s Civil War and influenced the development of modern warfare.
