109010: Charles Edward Stuart

Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788), familiarly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender, was the son of James Stuart.

Charles first stepped foot in Scotland on a beach at Eriskay on 23rd July 1745. From there he travelled to the mainland where he gathered his supporters to the Jacobite cause, aimed to place Charles’s father James on the English and Scottish thrones. Various successful conflicts ensued, including the Battle of Prestonpans in September 1745 and the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746. It was at the Battle of Culloden on 16^th April 1746 that the Prince’s Jacobite forces were finally defeated by the government. He made his escape to the Western Isles.

He landed on  Benbecula on 26th April, sailing for Scalpay the following day. His time on Harris and Lewis is detailed in the article Flight of a Prince. From there, he headed south, returning to Benbecula on 11th May 1746, travelling the length of South Uist. It was on 21st June that the Prince was first introduced to Flora MacDonald. Despite her arrest the next day, she finally helped him escape from Rossinish a week later, over the Minch to Skye, with the Prince famously in disguise as Flora’s maid, Betty Burke.

Landing near Kingsburgh, the Prince walked to Portree, where he met with both Flora and his loyal supporter Donald Roy MacDonald. Saying his goodbyes to Flora, the Prince was taken to a local beach by Donald, escaping to Raasay and onward to the mainland. Leaving the shores of Loch nan Uamh in Lochaber on 20th September, Charles was to spend the rest of his life in exile.