Prince Rupert (person)

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), and F. Knight (1967).

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.

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).