Edward, Prince Palatine of the Rhine, was the sixth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, by his consort, the British princess Elizabeth Stuart.

Elizabeth Stuart was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. The couple's selection for the crown by the nobles of Bohemia was part of the political and religious turmoil setting off the Thirty Years' War. Since her husband's reign in Bohemia lasted over one winter, she is called "the Winter Queen".