So, in 1617, Ferdinand was elected by the Bohemian Estates to become the Crown Prince, and automatically upon the death of Matthias, the next King of Bohemia. The king-elect then sent two Catholic councillors (Wilhelm Grav Slavata and Jaroslav Borzita Graf Von Martinicz) as his representatives to Hradčany castle in Prague in May 1618. Ferdinand wanted them to run the government while he was gone. Suddenly, the Bohemian Hussites took them, put them on a mock trial, and threw them out of the palace window which was 20 feet off the ground (this is called defenestration, or, more specifically: the defenestration of Prague). Remarkably, they survived and did not get hurt. The Catholics said that angels appeared and carried them to safety, while the Protestants said that they landed in a pile of manure which saved their lives.