The Young Pretender was not particularly successful in his enterprise to reclaim his grandfather’s throne (though of course, the other event to be mentioned here would involved the drowning of the Great Seal in the Thames which (potentially) left the authenticity of the new government in tatters for a while before it was reclaimed from the river). Nevertheless, the failure of the Young Pretender’s claim makes it more of a romantic endeavour than the Old Pretender’s or James II and VII’s grumbling in a far-off land. [An aside: a good reason to be thankful for the Act of Union 1707 is the combination of the regnal names/numbers.]
One of the romantic memorials to the failed rebellion is the Glenfinnan Monument, emplaced at Loch Shiel where Charles Edward Stuart placed his banner of rebellion. I have not yet been to the field of Culloden where the Highlander dreams were finally shattered, but it is an interesting time to be considering.
Loch Shiel must also take the honour of being one of the windiest places I have ever seen, which is saying a lot given I have been to Whitehaven during the ‘Weatherbomb’, Norfolk during its normal circumstances, and round all sorts of coastal areas. The windiness of the Shiel coastline was absolutely spectacular, but I guess that’s only to be expected if the wind is first channeled up Loch Linnhe and then into Loch Shiel.
But, back to the Monument, although before that I’ll note a historic event from the life of the Young Pretender as written down by sir Charles Petrie:
…when they [Charles Edward Stuart and the future Charles III of Spain] were on board the galley from Gaeta to Naples after the siege the Stuart prince’s hat fell into the sea, and when the sailors were about to rescue it Charles called out, ‘Never mind, it floats towards England, and the owner will soon go to fetch it; and that I may have something to fetch, too, mine shall accompany it’: whereupon he threw his own hat into the sea, and there were general shouts of ‘To England’.
I found the monument itself quite underwhelming, though perhaps it is suitable for a failed endeavour. The text noted in three languages (English, Gaelic, and Latin) the Young Pretender’s failed effort:
On this spot where Prince Charles Edward first raised His standard on the 19th day of August, 1745, when He made the daring and romantic attempt to recover a throne lost by the imprudence of His ancestors…
Somehow it all just fits in together.
