Henry the Protector (Merveilles des Morte)

Henry the Protector
King of Bohemia (Disputed)
Reign	1552-1553
Predecessor	Henry X
House	House of Premyslid
Father	John II

Henry the Protector was a claimant to the title of King of Bohemia from 1552 until his death in 1553. He was also the heir to the Duchy of Brandenburg. In 1552, the Catholic nobility of the Kingdom of Bohemia instigated a coup to depose the reigning King and Emperor, Henry X, Holy Roman Emperor, and replace him with Henry the Pious, his cousin. Fearing a complete Catholic take-over Bohemia, Henry the Protector, as the nearest Jungist relative of Henry X, was supported by the Jungists. This started the War of the Three Henrys.

Catholic nobleman Jan Ptáček would usurp command of Imperial forces in Bohemia and acted as a de facto head of his military, beginning a successful campaign in the surrounding countryside. However, 5,500 Jungist forces under Henry the Protector, including some 3,000 soldiers from Brandenburg, 1,000 soldiers from Saxony, and 1,500 rebelling peasants, would encounter Ptáček's army of some 13,000 soldiers on 19 December 1552. In the ensuing Battle of Kladen, Henry the Protector would win an unprecedented victory, suffering some 1,000 casualties, compared to the Catholic's 8,500, including Ptáček himself. The battle would see the lose of numerous Catholic nobles and knights, as well as the capture of dozens more. With this battle having been won, Henry would march on Prague victorious.

However, shortly afterwards, Henry the Protector would be murdered by a radical Catholic monk, known as Belerasmus Ladowitz. One of his wives who was with him at the time was injured, and died later due to this. Conspiracy theories surrounded Henry's death, as his relative Henry X reclaimed his throne and took over Prague from Henry the Protector. Henry left two children, Maria and John. The latter would die young, while the former would go on to marry the son and heir of Henry X, which would later lead to succession difficulties upon the death of Henry the Protector's father, John II, Duke of Brandenburg.