Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "the Great Elector" because of his military and political achievements. Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Westphalian political order of Northern-Central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor.
Joachim Frederick, of the House of Hohenzollern, was Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1598 until his death.
The House of Wittelsbach is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, Holland, Zeeland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Bohemia, and Greece. Their ancestral lands of Bavaria and the Palatinate were prince-electorates, and the family had three of its members elected emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire. They ruled over the Kingdom of Bavaria which was created in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918.
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a leader of mercenary troops in the religious wars of the time, including the Dutch Revolt. From 1583–1592 he acted as regent for his nephew, Elector Palatine Frederick IV.
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous".
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, specifically the cadet branch of Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine (Ottheinrich) in 1559. He was a devout convert to Calvinism, and made the Reformed confession the official religion of his domain by overseeing the composition and promulgation of the Heidelberg Catechism. His support of Calvinism gave the German Reformed movement a foothold within the Holy Roman Empire.
The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire with full voting rights to the Reichstag. Its capital was Zweibrücken. The reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.
Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony was a duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp. As a widow, she became known as a patron of culture.
Louis VI, Elector Palatine, was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
George II of Hesse-Darmstadt, German: Georg II von Hessen-Darmstadt was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1626 to 1661. He was the son of Ludwig V and Magdalene of Brandenburg.
Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau was a countess consort of the Palatinate by marriage to Frederick IV, Elector Palatine, and took part in the regency government of her son between 1610 and 1614. She also acted as a mediator between the king of Sweden and the elector of Brandenburg in 1631.
Brandenburg-Schwedt was a secundogeniture of the Hohenzollern margraves of Brandenburg, established by Prince Philip William who took his residence at Schwedt Castle in 1689. By appanage, they administered the manors of Schwedt and Vierraden on the Oder river as well as Wildenbruch in Pomerania. Though prosperous, the cadet branch never obtained Imperial immediacy.
Louis Philip was the Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern from 1610 until 1655. Philip acted as Administrator of the Electoral Palatinate between 1632 and 1648.
Louis Henry was the Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern from 1653 until 1673.
Eleanor of Prussia was a princess of the Duchy of Prussia by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.
Albert of Hanau-Münzenberg was the younger son of Philip Louis I of Hanau-Münzenberg (1553-1580) and his wife, Countess Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen (1558-1599). The only sons of his parents to reach adulthood were Albert and his elder brother Philip Louis II. Albert's son John Ernest was the last male member of the Hanau-Münzenberg line of the House of Hanau.
