Charles Edward Stuart

Charles Edward Stuart 1720-88, claimant to the British throne, b. Rome. First son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), he was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie and as the Young Pretender. When the failures and irregular life of the Old Pretender had alienated his followers, Charles Edward, a charming young man, magnanimous and brave, became the hope of the Jacobites . He led them in the rising of 1745, but all his enthusiasm could not avert the defeat at Culloden Moor in 1746. Charles fled to a Highland refuge, then escaped abroad with the aid of Flora Macdonald . He was expelled from France after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) and roamed about Europe, a broken drunkard. After his father's death (1766) he lived in Rome as the self-styled count of Albany and in 1772 married Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern (see Albany, Louisa, countess of ). They separated in 1780, and Charles Edward was attended in his later years by his illegitimate daughter, Charlotte. He died in Rome. There is much English and Scottish poetry and romantic literature about Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Bibliography: See biographies by M. McLaren (1972), D. Daiches (1973), M. Forster (1974), and F. McLynn (1988); see also bibliography under Jacobites.

Stuart, Charles Edward (1720–88) Scottish Prince, known as ‘ Bonnie Prince Charlie’ or the ‘Young Pretender’. A grandson of the deposed James II, he led the Jacobites in the rebellion of 1745 (‘the '45’) on behalf of his father, James, the ‘Old Pretender’. Landing in the Scottish Highlands without the hoped-for backing of France, Bonnie Prince Charlie gained the support of many clan chiefs, defeated government troops at Prestonpans, e central Scotland, and marched on London. Lacking widespread support in England, he turned back at Derby. The following year, his largely Highland force was decimated in the Battle of Culloden. He escaped to the continent and lived in exile until his death.

Bonnie Prince Charlie name given by his supporters to the young Charles Edward Stuart (1720–88), otherwise known as the Young of Chancery.