Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier

To his fellow Royalists, fighting for King Charles I, Prince Rupert of the Rhine was the archetypal 'cavalier'. Young, handsome, expert horseman, crack pistol shot, his swaggering style irritated the stuffier of the king's courtiers almost as much as the 'Roundheads' they were fighting. To the parliamentarians, above all Oliver Cromwell, he was the ultimate 'malignant', one of those Royalists who fought on even after Charles was executed in 1649. Rupert commanded the Royalist forces in exile, at one point reduced to little more than pirates before the triumphant restoration of the monarchy in 1660. In Charles Spencer's thoroughly researched account, Prince Rupert is revealed as more than just a great general and dashing cavalier. He was a scientist and classical scholar too: a true renaissance prince. From his dramatic childhood escape through the snows of Bohemia to respected older statesman, this is the first comprehensive biography of the greatest cavalier of them all.

A brilliant history of Prince Rupert of the Rhine from his penniless start, becoming a soldier in his teenage years, up to his life as King Charles I’s most famous and spectacular general. Born in Prague in 1619, Prince Rupert was set for a life of enormous privilege but when his father, Frederick V, lost his crown Rupert’s family were left with just eight years to flee Prague – they hastened to safety, but left the infant Rupert behind. He was discovered in a final sweep of the deserted palace. This is the adventurous story of Rupert, from his decision at the age of twelve to become a soldier, through the Thirty Years War and his entry into England, where he became an infamous presence on the battlefield, a classically handsome, swaggering, expert cavalier, and a fierce Royalist who would defend King Charles I to the death throughout the Civil War.