Charles Edward Stuart Biography

Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was a military leader and a Jacobite claimant to the English, Irish, and Scottish thrones. As the eldest son of James Francis Edward Stuart and grandson of James II and VII, Charles became the Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain following the death of his father in 1766. He grew up in Italy and enjoyed a privileged childhood. Like the rest of his family, he carried himself with a sense of pride and was an ardent believer in the divine rights of kings. He found a place in history because of his involvement in the 1745 rising. After he was decidedly defeated at Culloden in April 1746, the Stuart cause in England was finished. In later years, his other plans to claim the thrones, including the proposed 1759 French invasion, did not come to fruition. Throughout his life, Charles was given nicknames like “the Young Pretender", "the Young Chevalier," and "Bonnie Prince Charlie". His flight from Scotland after the failed uprising has since made him a romantic figure of heroic failure. For the rest of his life, Charles resided in various parts of the continent, returning to London for one secret visit in 1750.