Charles Edward Stuart

He led the Jacobite rising of 1745, landing in Scotland and achieving victories at Prestonpans and Falkirk Muir before his defeat at Culloden in April 1746.^[1] Charles Edward Stuart, the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, was the grandson of James VII and II and claimed the Stuart right to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland starting in 1766.^[2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Reign: 1 January 1766 – 30 January 1788
Predecessor: "James VIII and III"
Successor: "Henry IX and I"
Issue: Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany (illegitimate)
House: Stuart
Father: James Francis Edward Stuart
Mother: Maria Clementina Sobieska
Born: 31 December 1720

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Charles was raised in Rome with an education in languages, music, horsemanship, and the arts of war, growing up in a palace surrounded by courtiers loyal to a cause that had already failed twice.^[3] He escaped to France on 19 September 1746 aboard a French frigate.^[3] He married Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern in 1772, but the relationship became quarrelsome, and Louise formally left him in November 1780.^[4][5] Charles died in Rome of a stroke on 30 January 1788, aged 67.^[6]

Following his defeat, Charles concealed himself in the Scottish moors and the Hebrides, receiving help from supporters like Flora MacDonald, who transported him to the Isle of Skye while he was disguised as her maid "Betty Burke".^[7][8]

What the cited sources add

The Jacobite Trail account states Charles was raised in the consciousness that he was a prince and heir to three kingdoms, and that his family had been unjustly deprived of their throne by the events of 1688.^[3] It notes Charles developed into an excellent horseman, enthusiastic hunter, and reportedly charming in company.^[3] By his early twenties, Charles was chafing at the inaction of the Roman exile and desperate to prove himself.^[3] The account adds that with a £30,000 reward on his head, Charles became the most hunted man in Britain.^[3]

It states he was sheltered by ordinary Highlanders who remained loyal at extraordinary personal risk.^[3] The Jacobite Trail also notes that after his father's death in 1766, Charles assumed the Jacobite claim as Charles III, and Pope Clement XIII recognised this claim, though it was widely understood to be symbolic.^[3]

References

Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McLynn 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kybett 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Bonnie Prince Charlies", The Jacobite Trail. facts only, no text reused. jacobitetrail.co.uk
Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McLynn 1988; Preston 1995; Douglas 1975; Preston 1995 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975; Mayne, "Enchanters of Men", Methuen & Co, 6 May 1909, p. 206; Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975; Mayne, "Enchanters of Men", Methuen & Co, 6 May 1909, p. 206; Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kybett 1988; Kybett 1988; Aronson 1979; Douglas 1975; Douglas 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Preston 1995; Blaikie, "Prince Charles Edward Stuart Itinerary and Map (Supplement to the Lyon in Mourning)", Scottish History Society, p. 46; Douglas 1975; McLynn 1988; Michael Hook and Walter Ross, The 'Forty-Five. The Last Jacobite Rebellion (Edinburgh: HMSO, The National Library of Scotland, 1995), p. 27; Kybett 1988; Kybett 1988 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Charles Edward Stuart" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burke, "A Selection of Arms Authorised by the Laws of Heraldry", p. 113; Douglas 1975; McLynn 1988; "Charles Edward Stewart: The Young Pretender", The Scotsman; Queen Anne and the 1707 Act of Union ALBA – The Escape of the Young Pretender; Seddon, "Escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie", eBook Partnership, 1 November 2016; McLynn, "Charles Edward Stuart: A Tragedy in Many Acts", Routledge, 1989; Seward, "King over the Water: The Jacobite Cause, 1689-1807", Birlinn, Limited, 2019; Douglas 1975; Seddon, "Escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie", en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Charles Edward Stuart (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.