Heidelberg
This chapter focuses on Elizabeth Stuart's life-changing journey as she followed her husband to his ancestral seat, Heidelberg. Elizabeth's extended tour underlined the subtle, symbolic alliance between the United Provinces and the Protestant Union which had already been forged by Frederick V and Maurice of Nassau's appointment to the Order of the Garter. Elizabeth would later describe her reception in Heidelberg as 'most worthy and magnificent'. The court at Heidelberg had accommodated two, complementary, households since the death of Elector Friedrich IV in 1610: that of the Administrator of the Lower Palatinate, the Duke of Zweibrücken-Veldenz, who was to govern until the young Frederick came of age, and that of Frederick's mother, the Electress-Dowager Louise Juliana. The arrival of Frederick and Elizabeth in 1613 introduced two new, and very foreign, households into the equation. The chapter considers how Elizabeth's carrying the heir to the House Palatine gave the head of Frederick's household, Hans Meinrard Schomberg, the perfect excuse to interfere in her household affairs. The significance of Elizabeth's first child, Prince Frederick Henry, was easily matched by the grandeur of his baptism. The chapter then looks at Elizabeth Stuart's financial difficulties in Heidelberg.