of ships he captured. He returned to France in 1653 but,
after arguing with the English Royalists there, left for
Germany, where he spent several years. Following the
restoration of Charles I’s son, Charles II, to the English
throne in 1660, Rupert returned to England and settled
there. Charles gave him a subsidy and made him a mem-
ber of his privy council. Rupert saw limited action as
a naval commander during the Second (1665–67) and
Third (1672–74) Anglo-Dutch Wars, rising to become
First Lord of the Admiralty (1673–79). He retired from
fighting in 1674, spending his final years in scientific
research; he is credited with the discovery of mezzotint,
and a type of gunmetal is called “Prince’s metal” in his
honor. He served as the first governor of the Hudson’s
Bay Company, and for his services, the city of Prince
Rupert, British Columbia, was named in his honor fol-
lowing his death.
Prince Rupert died in Spring Gardens, Westmin-
ster, on 29 November 1682, three weeks before his 63rd
birthday. Historian Peter Young sums up Rupert’s service
and impact:
An intelligent and experienced professional sol-
dier, [Rupert] had proven an excellent General
of the Horse, able to train his men as well as lead
them. He had achieved remarkable successes at
Powick Bridge, Cirencester, Lichfield, Chal-
grove Field, Bristol, Newark and Bolton and had
shown himself as adept as laying a siege, as lead-
ing a cavalry charge.... His defeat at Marston
Moor, when he had offered battle to a superior
army, in the mistaken belief that he had no alter-
native, had probably eroded his self-confidence,
though not his matchless valour. Rupert was cer-
tainly the most versatile of the Civil War gener-
als. Unfortunately he was of a somewhat roughand proud nature, and at the age of 25 he had
not yet learned to suffer fools gladly.References: Morrah, Patrick, Prince Rupert of the Rhine
(London: Constable, 1976); Charnock, John, “Rupert,
Prince,” in Biographia Navalis; or, Impartial Memoirs of
the Lives and Characters of Officers of the Navy of Great
Britain, From the Year 1660 to the Present Time... , 4 vols.
(London: Printed for R. Faulder, 1794–98), I:124–135;
Kitson, Frank, Prince Rupert: Admiral and General-at-Sea
(London: Constable, 1998); Thomson, George Malcolm,
Warrior Prince: Prince Rupert of the Rhine (London: Secker
& Warburg, 1976); Wilkinson, Clennell, Prince Rupert
the Cavalier (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Company,
1935); A Copie of the Articles Agreed Upon at the Surrender
of the City of Bristol, Betweene Colonell Nathaniel Fienes,
Governour of the Said City, on the one Party, and Colonell
Charles Gerrard, and Captain William Teringham, for, and
on the Behalfe of, Prince Rupert, on the other Party, the 26
of July, 1643... (London: Printed for Henry Overton,
1643); Carte, Thomas, A Collection of Original Letters and
Papers, Concerning the Affairs of England, from the Year
1641 to 1660: Found Among the Duke of Ormonde’s Papers,
2 vols. (London: Printed by James Bettenham at the Ex-
pence of the Society for the Encouragement of Learning,
1739), I:56; An Exact Relation of the Several Engagements
and Actions of His Majesties Fleet, Under the Command of
His Highnesse Prince Rupert... (London, 1673); Young,
Peter, Naseby 1645: The Campaign and the Battle (London:
Century Publishing, 1985), 30–31; Blumberg, Arnold,
“Bohemian Prince Rupert fought for the Crown against
Parliament in England’s Civil War,” Military Heritage 5,
no. 1 (August 2003): 12–15, 89; A More Exact Relation of
the Late Battell neer York; fought by the English and Scotch
forces, against Prince Rupert and the Marquess of Newcastle...
(London: Printed by M. Simmons, 1644).RupeRt, pRince 0