Philip William, Elector Palatine

In 1685, with the death of his Protestant cousin, the Elector Palatine Charles II, Philip William inherited the Electorate of the Palatinate, which thus switched from a Protestant to a Catholic territory. Charles II's sister, now the Duchess of Orléans and Louis XIV's sister-in-law, also claimed the Palatinate. This was the pretext for the French invasion in 1688, which began the Nine Years War. ==Marriages==

Philip William married twice. He first married Princess Anna Catherine Constance Vasa, daughter of Sigismund III Vasa and Constance of Austria. The couple had a son who died at birth. Anne Catherine Constance herself died in 1651. In 1653 Philipp Wilhelm married Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. This second marriage lasted 37 years and was regarded as extremely happy. They had 17 children, including the next two Palatine Electors, John William and Charles III Philip, as well as Elector-Archbishop Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg. Many of these children have descendants today. In the early years of their marriage, the couple lived in Düsseldorf, where they founded churches and monasteries. ==Ancestry==