Son of Frederick V., Elector Palatine, and grandson of James I. of England; received an excellent education; took part in the Thirty Years' War, and suffered three years' imprisonment at Linz; in England, at the outbreak of the Great Rebellion, he was entrusted with a command by Charles I., and by his dash and daring greatly heartened the Royalist cause, taking an active part in all the great battles; finally surrendered to Fairfax at Oxford in 1646; but two years later took command of the Royalist ships and kept up a gallant struggle till his defeat by Blake in 1651; escaped to the West Indies, where he kept up a privateering attack upon English merchantmen; came in for many honors after the Restoration, and distinguished himself in the Dutch War; the closing years of his life were quietly spent in scientific research (physical, chemical, mechanical), for which he had a distinct aptitude (1619-1682).