long-coveted crown, yet hesitated when the Bohemian ambassadors arrived at Amberg to give him formal notice of his election. He asked the advice of his councillors, Christian of Anhalt, Camerarius, the court chaplain Schulze, and he also consulted several princes of the Protestant Union. Frederick, following the advice of the majority of those he consulted, at first decided to return an evasive answer, saying he would only accept the crown when assured of sufficient aid from his father-in-law, the King of England. It is now well known that the sympathies of James I were at that moment entirely with Ferdinand, whom he considered the legitimate King of Bohemia. If James—and to a far greater extent some of his ministers—at times seemed to favour Frederick's plans, this was only done because the Protestant opinion of England warmly espoused the cause of the Elector Palatine.
Had Frederick adhered to his first resolution, there is no doubt that his expedition to Bohemia—equally disastrous to himself and to the country which he attempted to rule—would never have taken place. The fact that on the day following the election of Frederick, Archduke Ferdinand was unanimously chosen as Emperor by the German electors (August&nbp;28, 1619) should have been a further inducement to cautious action.
Frederick, however, soon abandoned his first decision. Christian of Anhalt represented to him that having done so much to obtain the Bohemian throne, he would incur lasting disgrace should he now refuse it. The Elector's ambitious consort, Elizabeth, is said to have exercised her great influence towards the same end.[1] Frederick finally decided to accept the crown of Bohemia without waiting for the approval of the King of England. He wrote to inform
- ↑ This is principally stated by Catholic authors of this period, who surnamed Elizabeth the Helen of Germany, thus indicating that she Avas the cause of all the calamities which the Thirty Years' War brought on Germany. In a letter which Elizabeth at this time addressed to her husband, who had sought her advice, she said: "As God directs everything, He had undoubtedly also ordained this "(i.e. the election). "She therefore left it to her husband to decide whether he would accept the crown. Should he do so, she was ready to obey the call of God, to suffer what God might decree, and even if necessary to sacrifice her jewels and all her worldly possessions." This letter can hardly be considered as pleading strongly in favour of Frederick's acceptance of the Bohemian crown.
