John Casimir of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken (1589-1652)

German-Swedish prince. He was Count Palatine of Zweibrücken of the Wittelsbach Dynasty and also inherited the County of Kleeburg when his father died in 1604. His German name was Johann Kasimir and he had several additional titles. He went to Sweden to further the Protestant cause and became the second of the four prince consorts in Swedish history by marrying King Carl IX's elder daughter Catherine in 1615. They became Duke and Duchess of Stegeborg in Sweden in 1622 after the couple for religious reasons had failed to make a home for themselves in Germany. When their first son became King of Sweden in 1654 their entire family was elevated and became Swedish royalty. He and his wife had eight children and were the founders, within his main House of Wittelsbach, of a returning Swedish royal dynasty, this time especially called the Palatine Dynasty, which went on to produce three famous kings and one not-as-famous reigning queen before dying out in 1741. The dynasty had been on the throne once before from 1441 to 1448 with King Christopher.

Bio by: Count Demitz