Editing Prince Rupert of the Rhine (section)

==Teenage years==
[[File:Anthonis van Dyck 058.jpg|upright|thumb|Rupert as a young man visiting the court of his uncle, [[King Charles I of England]], by Anthony van Dyck|alt=The painting shows a young looking Prince Rupert standing upright, wearing smart court clothes and a large waistcoat. His hair is long, black and curled. He is holding a cane in one hand and looks proud.]]
Rupert spent the beginning of his teenage years between the courts of [[The Hague]] and that of his uncle, King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], before being captured and imprisoned in [[Linz]] during the middle stages of the Thirty Years' War. Rupert had become a soldier early; at the age of 14 he attended the Dutch ''[[pas d'armes]]'' with the Protestant [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange]].<ref>Spencer, pp. 28–29.</ref> Later that year he fought alongside him and the [[Duke of Brunswick]] at the Anglo-German siege of [[Rheinberg]], and by 1635 he was acting as a military [[Bodyguard|lifeguard]] to Prince Frederick.<ref name="Spencer, p.30">Spencer, p. 30.</ref> Rupert went on to fight against imperial Spain in the successful [[Siege of Breda (1637)|campaign around Breda]] in 1637 during the [[Eighty Years' War]] in the Netherlands.<ref name="Spencer, p.35">Spencer, p. 35.</ref> By the end of this period, Rupert had acquired a reputation for fearlessness in battle, high spirits and considerable industry.<ref name="Spencer, p.30"/>

In between these campaigns, Rupert had visited his uncle's court in England. The Palatinate cause was a popular Protestant issue in England, and in 1637 a general public subscription helped fund an expedition under [[Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine|Charles Louis]] to try to regain the electorate as part of a joint French campaign.<ref name="Spencer, p.35"/> Rupert was placed in command of a Palatinate cavalry regiment,<ref>Spencer, p. 37.</ref> and his later friend [[William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (1608–1697)|Lord Craven]], an admirer of Rupert's mother, assisted in raising funds and accompanied the army on the campaign. The campaign ended badly at the [[Battle of Vlotho]] (17 October 1638) during the invasion of [[Westphalia]]; Rupert escaped death, but was captured by the forces of the Imperial General [[Melchior von Hatzfeldt]] towards the end of the battle.<ref>Spencer, pp. 38–39.</ref>

After a failed attempt to bribe his way free of his guards,<ref name="Spencer, p.39">Spencer, p. 39.</ref> Rupert was imprisoned in Linz. Lord Craven, also taken in the battle, attempted to persuade his captors to allow him to remain with Rupert, but was refused.<ref name="Spencer, p.39"/> Rupert's imprisonment was surrounded by religious overtones. His mother was deeply concerned that he might be converted from Calvinism to [[Catholicism]];<ref name="Spencer, p.40">Spencer, p. 40.</ref> his captors, encouraged by Emperor [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]], deployed [[Jesuit]] priests in an attempt to [[Religious conversion|convert]] him.<ref name="Spencer, p.40"/> The emperor went further, proffering the option of freedom, a position as an Imperial general and a small principality if Rupert would convert.<ref name="Spencer, pp.40–1">Spencer, pp. 40–41.</ref> Rupert refused.<ref>Kitson, p. 67.</ref>

Rupert's imprisonment became more relaxed on the advice of the Archduke [[Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria|Leopold]], Ferdinand's younger brother, who met and grew to like Rupert.<ref>Spencer, p. 43.</ref> Rupert practised etching, played tennis, practised shooting, read military textbooks and was taken on accompanied hunting trips.<ref name="Spencer, pp.40–1"/> He also entered into a romantic affair with Susan Kuffstein, the daughter of Count von Kuffstein, his gaoler.<ref>Spencer, p. 41.</ref> He received a present of a rare white [[poodle]] that Rupert called [[Boy (dog)|Boy or sometimes Pudel]], and which remained with him into the [[English Civil War]]. Despite attempts by a Franco-Swedish army to seize Linz and free Rupert, his release was ultimately negotiated through Leopold and the Empress [[Maria Anna of Spain|Maria Anna]]; in exchange for a commitment never again to take up arms against the emperor, Rupert would be released. Rupert formally kissed the emperor's hand at the end of 1641, turned down a final offer of an imperial command and left Germany for England.<ref>Warburton, p. 103.</ref>