Clown Prince?
Leading historian paints new picture of Young Pretender as a ‘driven man of strategic vision’
HE is the Scottish romantic hero whose personal ambition is often blamed for contributing to his failure at Culloden.
But Bonnie Prince Charlie was in reality a driven individual with a ‘ strategic vision’, according to a leading historian.
Jacobite expert Murray Pittock, viceprincipal of Glasgow University, argues Charles Edward Stuart was a far more significant figure than he has been given credit for.
Almost 300 years after his birth, the prince remains one of the most controversial figures in British history.
He was the grandson of the deposed Catholic King James VII of Scotland – also King James II of England – and believed the British throne belonged to the House of Stuart.
He led the 1745 Jacobite rising in a bid to overthrow King George II, but his campaign ended in disaster at the Battle of Culloden the following year. His army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of government forces led by the Duke of Cumberland.
The last pitched battle fought on British soil left 1,600 men dead – 1,500 of them Jacobites.
Professor Pittock says Charles, known as the Young Pretender, was a far more considerable figure than he has been given credit for and would have changed the constitution of the UK had he won.
Professor Pittock told The Times: ‘He was undoubtedly an extremely charismatic, confident and determined individual, and also one with strategic vision, though not so good tactically.’
He also disagrees with the suggestion that the prince overplayed his hand by invading England, and should have stayed in Edinburgh.
He said: ‘Charles understood that his ancestor, Charles I, had made a fatal mistake in not attacking London in 1643. The resources of the British crown and parliament were enormous, and if you just stood still you would be wiped out. So his decision was astute.’
He added: ‘The 1745 rising has been seen as a purely private enterprise devised by Charles with financial and other support from exiled Jacobites.
‘But it is more likely to have been a deniable special operation of the French government.’
Charles led an army of around 14,000 men, which was almost a quarter of the size of the British army at the time.
Despite the Battle of Culloden bringing an end to the Jacobite movement, Professor Pittock has said it was a pivotal moment in European history.
Delivering the annual Gresham Lecture in London last month, Professor Pittock said: ‘There were fewer than 14,000 men on the field that cold, wet, April day on the edge of Europe, but Culloden is still one of the decisive battles of the world.’