Charles Edward Stuart - Early Life

Early Life

Prince Charles was born in the Palazzo Muti, Rome, Italy, on 31 December 1720, where his father had been given a residence by Pope Clement XI. He spent almost all his childhood in Rome and Bologna. He was the son of the Old Pretender, Prince James, son of exiled Stuart King, James II & VII and his wife Maria Clementina Sobieska and great-grandson of John III Sobieski, most famous for the victory over the Ottoman Turks in the 1683 Battle of Vienna.

His childhood in Rome was one of privilege, being brought up Catholic in a loving but argumentative family. Being the last legitimate heirs of the House of Stuart, his family lived with a sense of pride and staunchly believed in the Divine Right of Kings. The talk of regaining the thrones of England and Scotland for the Stuarts was a constant topic of conversation in the household, principally reflected in his father's often morose and combative moods.

His grandfather, James II of England and VII of Scotland, had ruled the country from 1685 to 1689, at which time he was deposed when Parliament invited the Dutch Protestant, William of Orange and his wife the Princess Mary (King James' eldest daughter) to replace him, in the Revolution of 1688. James II had aimed to bring England back into the Catholic fold and, in the process, had irritated and alarmed the powerful statesmen of the day. Since the exile of James II, the 'Jacobite Cause' had striven to return the Stuarts to the thrones of England and Scotland, in 1707 united as Great Britain. Prince Charles Edward was to play a major part in the pursuit of this ultimate goal.

The young Prince was trained in the military arts from an early age. In 1734, he observed the French and Spanish siege of Gaeta, his first exposure to the art of war. His father managed to obtain the renewed support of the French government in 1744; and Charles Edward travelled to France with the sole purpose of commanding a French army, which he would lead in an invasion of England. The invasion never materialised, because the invasion fleet was scattered by a storm. By the time the fleet had regrouped, the British fleet had realised the diversion that had deceived them and had retaken their position in the Channel. Undeterred, Charles Edward was determined to carry on in his quest for the restoration of the Stuarts.