Philip William Elector Palatine (1615-1690)

German Royalty. Son of Wolfgang William, Count Palatine and his wife, Magdalene of Bavaria. In 1653, he succeeded his father as Count Palatine, Duke of Jülich and Berg, and was also heir to his cousin, Elector Palatine Karl II. He married Princess Anna Katarzyna Konstancja, daughter of King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland, on 8 June, 1642. They had only child, a son, who died at birth. Anna herself died in 1651. Philip then married Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt on 3 September, 1653. This was a happy union which lasted 37 years and produced 17 children. Philip became Elector Palatine upon the death of his Protestant cousin in 1685, thus turning it to a Catholic territory, but he had a rival. King Louis XIV of France claimed the Palatine on behalf of his sister-in-law Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans and a Palatinate princess by birth. This led to a French invasion in 1688 and the beginning of the Nine Years War. Philip William died in Vienna at the age of 74 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Johan Wilhelm.

Bio by: Kristen Conrad