I have heard the term Bonney Prince Charley...who is he?

Question

I have heard the term Bonney Prince Charley...who is he?

Answer 1

Charles Stuart was the grandson of King James II of England.When James lost the throne in the Revolution of of 1688, the family was exiled. There were several unsuccessful bids for Charles to regain the throne despite strong support from the Jacobites( i.e. supporters of Charles reclaiming the throne), and the final battle took place at Culloden, Scotland, where Charles fled into exile for good after a brutal defeat.

Answer 2

Scotland has a long, dramatic, tragic and colourful history; Bonnie Prince Charlie is part of it.

Charles Edward Stuart, called The Young Pretender, the Young Chevalier, and Bonnie Prince Charlie (1720-88), was a claimant to the British throne who led the Scottish Highland army in the Forty-five Rebellion.

http://scotlandvacations.com/stuart.htm

His father was the Old Pretender; his name was James (III), which is where the word for the Jacobite uprisings comes from - James = Jacobus.  Bonnie Prince Charlie was a grandson of King James VII (II of England) who was driven out of Britain in 1688 because of his support of the Catholic faith.

Charles came from abroad to play his part in bringing back the Stuarts to the English and Scottish thrones.  He raised his standard at Glenfinnan in Scotland (there is a monument there today) in August 1745, and began building an army of Highlanders.  The Jacobite uprising had begun.

But English Jacobites did not rise in support of his cause, the backing he expected from France still did not materialise and faced with a Government army five times larger, he withdrew back to Scotland.

On 16th April 1746 he was finally defeated at Culloden by the Duke of Cumberland ("Butcher" Cumberland). The battle lasted little more than an hour but the massacre which followed lasted until nightfall, and for weeks after vicious reprisals were enacted by the Government forces. Several thousand people are reckoned to have been killed, many who had nothing to do with the battle or even the Jacobite cause.  Castles and houses were torched, hundreds were executed (after brief trials in England), 700 died in the prison ships in the river Thames in London and a thousand were sold as slaves to the American plantations. The kilt was banned and no Highlander could carry a weapon. The clan system may not have lasted for much longer anyway, but the aftermath of Culloden hastened its demise.

After 5 months of evading capture Charles himself escaped by ship to France.    He did once visit London, in disguise in 1750.

He died in exile, an old wife-beater and alcoholic.

If he had won, he would have changed the course of British history.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civ... (animation here)

He was called "Bonnie" because he was considered good looking; it's said he had the Stuart charm.  (Remember Mary, Queen of Scots?)  Many romantic tales are still told about him.  When he was on the run, Flora MacDonald helped him escape - he was dressed as her maid.  The song "Over the Sea to Skye" commemorates that.

Pictures:

http://ftp.wi.net/~census/Bonnie%20Princ...

http://www.episcopaldumfries.org/images/...

http://www.rampantscotland.com/graphics/...

http://www.leopardmag.co.uk/img/charlie_... (in old age)

http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/bloody/cu...

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl...

Answer 3

prince charles, queen elizabeth's son, heir to britain's throne, are u for real????

Answer 4

You mean who was he.Charles Edward Stuart.

Answer 5

James II was the son of Charles I and the brother of Charles II. He had two daughters, Mary and Anne. When James was deposed in 1688 his daughter Mary became queen as Mary II and ruled jointley with Williamof Orange, William III. Their marriage was childless and the throne passed to Mary's sister Anne who had 17 children but only one survived infancy and that one died in childhood.

With Anne's death the natural heir to the throne was James Edward Stuart, the son of James II who was born after James was deposed in 1688. James Stuart was, however, a Catholic and was not permitted to become king so the throne went to George of Hanover. James Stuart's son, Charles Edward Stuart, was Bonnie Prince Charlie.