Prince Rupert (person)

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Rupert, Prince (1619–82). Prince Rupert had two military careers, as an army officer until 1646 and as a naval commander thereafter. Son of Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, a grandson of James I, and first cousin to Charles II, he was born in Prague just before his parents were driven out at the start of the Thirty Years War. In his teens he gained military experience in Holland, but was taken prisoner by the Austrians in 1638 and spent nearly three years in captivity. Within months of his release, he travelled to Nottingham and placed himself at the service of his uncle Charles I. For the next four years he was the toast of the royalists, the terror of the roundheads, and the mainstay of the king's war effort, more sober than Goring, more resourceful than Hopton. His forte was the cavalry raid, surprising outposts, sweeping down on garrisons, catching the enemy off guard. He fought in the first skirmish of the war at Powick Bridge, commanded the right wing at Edgehill, led the daring raid which culminated in Chalgrove Field, and harassed Essex at the first battle of Newbury. His relief of York in 1644 was a tactical masterpiece and his subsequent defeat at Marston Moor was probably due to his understanding that the king had given him ‘peremptory’ orders to engage, though heavily outnumbered. He took overall command of the royal forces in November 1644 when it was too late and was defeated at Naseby in June 1645. Sent to hold Bristol, he surrendered in September 1645, causing a bitter breach with the king, who reproached him for ‘so mean an action’. Rupert left the country in July 1646.

The next few years were spent commanding small naval squadrons. He took a fleet to Ireland in 1649 but was outgunned by Blake, and from 1650 to 1652 cruised in the Mediterranean and West Indies, preying on parliamentary shipping and attempting by privateering to improve royal finances. His chance to exercise high naval command came after the Restoration, when he returned to England and shared responsibility in the second and third Anglo-Dutch wars with Monck (Albemarle) and James, duke of York. Confronted by tough and experienced Dutch admirals, his triumphs were less heady than on land, though the action off Lowestoft in 1665 was an important victory.

After the Restoration, Rupert was prominent at the court of Charles II. He retained his reputation as a dashing leader of men, yet he was already a figure from the past, solemn among the wits and gallants of the new generation. He suffered from a head wound gained fighting for the French against the Spaniards in 1647 and survived two operations for trepanning. The combination of high rank, strong views, and a life spent in camps and on board ships made him forthright, though he was not devoid of political judgement. A lifelong servant of the Stuart cause, he is buried in Westminster abbey.

J. A. Cannon

Prince Rupert 1619–82, count palatine of the Rhine. Born in Prague, he was the son of Frederick the Winter King, elector palatine and king of Bohemia, and Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England. Rupert grew up in the Netherlands and studied at Leiden. Active in the later part of the Thirty Years War against the Holy Roman Empire, he was at the siege of Breda (1637) and was taken prisoner (1638). Released in 1641, he went to the aid of his uncle, King Charles I of England, in the civil wars. Despite his youth Rupert became an outstanding royalist general. His cavalry was generally successful, and he was created earl of Holderness and duke of Cumberland. Despite his defeat at Marston Moor (1644) he was made a general of the king's army. However, Rupert's support of peace proposals and his surrender of Bristol (1645) to Sir Thomas Fairfax resulted in his dismissal by the king, and in 1646 he was ordered to leave England. He went to France, soon became reconciled with Charles, and commanded a fleet assisting the king's forces in Ireland. After the triumph of Parliament over the monarchy, Rupert went (1654) to Germany, where he remained until the Restoration of the Stuart kings under Charles II (1660). Returning to England, he became a privy councillor to Charles II, and, as an admiral, played an important part in the Dutch Wars . A man of many artistic and scientific interests, Rupert also took part in colonial and commercial schemes, notably in the ventures of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Bibliography: See biographies by E. Scott (1899), B. Fergusson (1952), F. Knight (1967), and C. Spencer (2008).

Rupert, Prince (1619–82). Prince Rupert had two military careers, as an army officer until 1646 and as a naval commander thereafter. Son of Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, and first cousin to Charles II, he was born in Prague just before his parents were driven out at the start of the Thirty Years War. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he placed himself at the service of his uncle Charles I. For the next four years he was the toast of the royalists, the terror of the roundheads, and the mainstay of the king's war effort. His forte was the cavalry raid, surprising outposts, sweeping down on garrisons, catching the enemy off guard. He took overall command of the royal forces in November 1644 when it was too late and was defeated at Naseby in June 1645. Sent to hold Bristol, he surrendered in September 1645, causing a bitter breach with the king, who reproached him for ‘so mean an action’. Rupert left the country in July 1646.

The next few years were spent commanding small naval squadrons. He took a fleet to Ireland in 1649 but was outgunned by Blake, and from 1650 to 1652 cruised in the Mediterranean and West Indies, preying on parliamentary shipping. His chance to exercise high naval command came after the Restoration, when he returned to England and shared responsibility in the second and third Anglo‐Dutch wars with Monck (Albemarle) and James, duke of York. Confronted by tough and experienced Dutch admirals, his triumphs were less heady than on land, though the action off Lowestoft in 1665 was an important victory.

Rupert, Prince (1619–82) English Royalist general, son of Frederick V, elector of the Palatinate, and nephew of Charles I. Born in Bohemia, he went to England and joined the Royalist side just before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642. He made his name in the early years of the war as a leader of cavalry, but after a series of victorious engagements was defeated by Parliamentarian forces at Marston Moor (1644) and Naseby (1645). He later lived chiefly in France until the Restoration (1660), when he returned to England and commanded naval operations against the Dutch (1665–67 and 1672–74). In 1670 Rupert became the first governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. He was deeply interested in art and science, and was also responsible for the introduction of mezzotint engraving into England.

Rupert, Prince (1619–82). Bohemian-born soldier and amateur artist. Famous as a dashing cavalry commander for his uncle Charles I in the English Civil War, he also took a serious interest in science and the arts. He was an amateur etcher and introduced mezzotint engraving to England, having perhaps learnt the technique from its inventor Ludwig von Siegen ( Rupert was himself long credited as the inventor). He demonstrated the technique to the diarist John Evelyn, who publicized it in his book Sculptura (1662).

Rupert, Prince (1619–82) British military commander, b. Bohemia and raised in the Netherlands. His uncle, Charles I, made him commander of the cavalry in the English Civil War. Rupert was undefeated until Marston Moor (1644). He was dismissed after the Royalist defeat at Naseby (1645). Rupert surrendered at Bristol. He led raids against English shipping during the Protectorate period and, after the Restoration, he served as an admiral in the Dutch Wars.