History - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 411

BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
Prince Charles Edward Stuart - better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or “The Young
Pretender” - was born in 1720 in Rome, where his father, “The Old Pretender”, claimant to the
British throne (as the son of James VII), was living in exile with his Polish wife. At the age of 25,
with no knowledge of Gaelic, an imperfect grasp of English and a strong attachment to the
Catholic faith, the prince set out for Scotland with two French ships, disguised as a seminarist
from the Scots College in Paris. He arrived on the Hebridean island of Eriskay (see p.323) on
July 23, 1745, with just seven companions, and was immediately implored to return to France
by the clan chiefs, who were singularly unimpressed by his lack of army. Charles was unmoved
and went on to raise the royal standard at Glenfinnan (see p.221), thus signalling the
beginning of the Jacobite uprising . He only attracted less than half of the potential 20,000
clansmen who could have marched with him, and promises of support from the French and
English Jacobites failed to materialize. Nevertheless, after a decisive victory over government
forces at the Battle of Prestonpans , near Edinburgh, Charles made a spectacular advance into
England, getting as far as Derby. London was in a state of panic: its shops were closed and the
Bank of England, fearing a run on sterling, slowed withdrawals by paying out in sixpences. But
Derby was as far as Charles got. On December 6, threatened by superior forces, the Jacobites
decided to retreat to Scotland against Charles's wishes. Pursued back to Scotland by the
Duke of Cumberland, he won one last victory, at Falkirk, before the final disaster at Culloden
(see p.208) in April 1746.
The prince spent the following five months in hiding, with a price of £30,000 on his head, and
literally thousands of government troops searching for him. He certainly endured his fair share of
cold and hunger while on the run, but the real price was paid by the Highlanders themselves,
who risked their lives (and often paid for it with them) by aiding and abetting the prince. The
most famous of these was, of course, 23-year-old Flora MacDonald , whom Charles first met on
South Uist in June 1746. Flora was persuaded - either by his looks or her relatives, depending on
which account you believe - to convey Charles “over the sea to Skye”, disguised as an Irish servant
girl by the name of Betty Burke. She was arrested just seven days after parting with the prince in
Portree, and held in the Tower of London until July 1747. She went on to marry a local man, had
seven children, and in 1774 emigrated to America where her husband was taken prisoner during
the American War of Independence. Flora returned to Scotland and was reunited with her
husband on his release; they resettled in Skye and she died at the age of 68.
Charles eventually boarded a ship back to France in September 1746, but, despite his
promises - “For all that has happened, Madam, I hope we shall meet in St James's yet” - never
returned to Scotland, nor did he ever see Flora again. After mistreating a string of mistresses,
he eventually got married at the age of 52 to the 19-year-old Princess Louise of Stolberg-
Gedern in an effort to produce a Stuart heir. They had no children, and she eventually fled
from his violent drunkenness; in 1788, a none-too-“bonnie” Prince Charles died in the arms of
his illegitimate daughter in Rome. Bonnie Prince Charlie became a legend in his own lifetime,
but it was the Victorians who really milked the myth for all its sentimentality, conveniently
overlooking the fact that the real consequence of 1745 was the virtual annihilation of the
Highland way of life.

to Scotland. There were many in England who toasted the “King across the water”
and showed no enthusiasm for the new German ruler. In September 1715, the
fiercely Jacobite John Erskine, Earl of Mar, raised the Stewart standard at Braemar
Castle. Just eight days later, he captured Perth, where he gathered an army of over

1707 1715 1746 1762

The Act of Union
unites the
kingdoms of Scotland
and England

Jacobite uprising
against the accession of
Hanoverian King George I

Bonnie Prince Charlie's
Jacobite army is
defeated at the Battle
of Culloden

Beginning of
the Highland
Clearances