Editing Frederick V of the Palatinate (section)

===Frederick in Prague===
On 26 August 1619, the states of the Bohemian Confederacy elected Frederick as the new King of Bohemia, Frederick receiving news of his election on 29 August in Amberg.<ref>s. hierzu s. unter Literaturangabe: Berning ... S. 134</ref>

Two days later, Ferdinand II [[Imperial election of 1619|was elected]] Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick was the only [[Prince-elector|elector]] who voted against Ferdinand; even the Protestant prince-electors John George I of Saxony and [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund of Brandenburg]] adhered to the tradition of supporting the Habsburg Imperial candidate. The electoral college also condemned the Bohemian Confederation's attempt to remove Ferdinand from the throne of Bohemia and declared that the 1617 vote of the Estates of Bohemia, making Ferdinand King of Bohemia, was binding.
[[Image:Kurfyrst Frederik V af Pfalz.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Frederick]]
Frederick's decision to accept the Bohemian crown has been the subject of much historical speculation. Later Catholic propaganda, in a view accepted by [[Friedrich Schiller]], portrayed the decision as based mainly on Elizabeth Stuart's desire to be a queen.<ref>Friedrich Schiller: ''Geschichte des 30jährigen Kriegs'', Teil 1</ref>  More recently, historians have concluded that Frederick's decision was based primarily on a sense of duty to his fellow Protestants, although Frederick wavered between his obligations to the emperor and his commitment to his religious brethren. There also seems to have been economic considerations; the Upper Palatinate was at that time Europe's center for iron production, while Bohemia was a focal point for the tin and glass trade. [[Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg]], told Frederick that a union of the two areas could be commercially advantageous.

On 12 September 1619, the Protestant Union met at [[Rothenburg ob der Tauber]] and called on Frederick not to intervene in Bohemian affairs. Other possible allies – the [[Dutch Republic]], [[Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy]], and the [[Republic of Venice]] – sent letters saying they would not be able to offer Frederick assistance if he accepted the Bohemian offer. Only [[Gabriel Bethlen]] offered words of encouragement.

Between 24 September and 28, Frederick reached his decision "not to resist the will of the Almighty" and thus decided to accept the Bohemian crown.<ref>Zitiert nach Peter Bilhöfer in ''Der Winterkönig. Friedrich von der Pfalz. Bayern und Europa im Zeitalter des Dreißigjährigen Krieges'', S. 24 24</ref>  The Dutch Republic, the Republic of Venice, [[Denmark]], and [[Sweden]] recognised Frederick as King of Bohemia.

On 29 September 1619, Frederick left Heidelberg for Prague. He travelled through [[Ansbach]], Amberg, Neumarkt, and [[Waldsassen]], where he was met by representatives from the Bohemian Estates. Together, they then travelled through [[Cheb]], [[Sokolov (Sokolov District)|Sokolov]], [[Žatec]], [[Louny]], and [[Slaný]]. Finally on 31 October 1619, Frederick entered Prague, along with 568 people and 100 cars, and was greeted enthusiastically.