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Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 1596 – 13 February 1662) was, as the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia. Due to her husband's short reign in Bohemia, Elizabeth is often referred to as the Winter Queen. She was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England and Ireland, and Anne of Denmark.
With the demise of the Stuart dynasty in 1714, the descendants of her youngest daughter, Sophia, succeeded to the British throne as the House of Hanover.
Elizabeth Stuart the Elder in 1632[]
When Grantville arrived in 1631, Elizabeth Stuart had nine living children, and was pregnant with her tenth, and last. Along with her children, she was taken captive when Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand seized most of the Netherlands after the destruction of the Dutch fleet by the League of Ostend.
She was known for not being particularly maternal. In the winter of 1634-35, she did write a letter asking that her 16-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, be allowed to move to Amsterdam to study medicine under Anne Jefferson, and that her 15-year-old son Rupert be allowed to go along. It was strongly implied, and definitely believed, that she had been talked into writing the letter, and having written it, would have no further interest in the matter, as those two of her children were no longer her concern. This actually led to the approval of young Elisabeth's request, as it was clear that attempting to reach the daughter through the mother would be pointless.