Stewart, James Francis Edward

Before the Glorious Revolution

Yakov II, who had ascended the throne at the age of 52, did not have legal sons by this time (all five boys born from his two marriages died in early childhood). The English Protestant opposition hoped that after the death of Catholic James II, the throne would pass to one of his two adult daughters from his first marriage, Mary or Anna , who were raised in Protestantism and married to Protestant princes - respectively, William III of Orange and George of Denmark . However, the birth on June 10 of Crown Prince James, Prince of Wales , destroyed all plans for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and made the return of Catholicism as the dominant religion a real prospect.

June 30 in Julian (July 10 in Gregorian) a group of nobles (The Immortal Seven ), led by John Churchill , in a secret letter called Prince William of Orange and his army to England to the English throne in order to protect the Protestant faith .

During the Glorious Revolution

On November 5, William landed on the English coast. A number of Protestants, including Anna's daughter, Yakov, joined him. Despite the numerical superiority of his own army, Jacob II did not give orders to repel the invasion, and on November 11 fled to France . On the way, he threw the Great Seal into the Thames. Captured in Kent, he was placed under the protection of the Dutch guard.

After the death of Jacob II (1701), France, Spain , the pope and dukes of Parma and Modena openly recognized the 13-year-old prince of Wales as king, and the English parliament declared him a traitor.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Jacob hoped to seize the throne, lost by his father, with the help of Louis XIV . In 1708, the French fleet of 32 large ships left Dunkirk Harbor, taking the applicant and troops to the Scottish shores, but was forced to return back without reaching the goal.

Later, Jacob fought in the ranks of the French troops; but according to the Utrecht Peace (1713), France had to recognize the Protestant dynasty in England and as a result remove the applicant. After the accession to the throne of George I , a rebellion broke out in Scotland : In the fall of 1715, from 10 to 15 thousand armed Jacobites under the command of Count Mara entered England, but were defeated at Preston .

At the same time, the applicant appeared almost without retinue in Scotland , and on January 27, 1716 he was crowned in Skoon , under the name of Jacob VIII. However, he was soon forced to flee to the continent. The return trip to France was closed to him; After the death in September 1715 of Louis XIV, Regent Philip II of Orleans, who headed the government, began to consider the support of the British contender as too burdensome.

Marriage and family life

September 3, 1719 James was married to Maria Clementina Sobieska . The spouses were invited to live in Rome by Pope Clement XI , who allocated them a palace in the city (Palazzo Muti) and a villa. The Catholic Church also provided them with an annual allowance of 12 thousand crowns from the papal treasury.

In this marriage two sons were born:

• Carl Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stewart (1720-1788), or “Handsome Prince Charlie,” married Louise Stolberg-Guderen.
• Henry Benedict Maria Clement Thomas Francis Xavier Stewart (March 11, 1725 - July 13, 1807), later known as Cardinal Duke of York, never married.

After the birth of the youngest son, Mary left the family and went to the monastery, where she died later. The reason for the breakup of the spouses was the betrayal of James.

Last Attempt

Only in 1727 , after the death of George I, James decided to try his luck again. Supported by the pope, he went to Genoa to get to England from there, but soon became convinced of the impracticability of his plan.

During the Second Jacobite Uprising ( 1745 - 1746 ), the leader of the conspirators was no longer James, but his son, Carl Edward . James died in Rome in 1766 . He is buried in the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter . After his death, the papacy recognized Hanover as monarchs of Great Britain.

• One of the versions of the origin of the title of the play “Les Barricades Mystérieuses” by the French composer Francois Couperin for the harpsichord is associated with the name of James Francis Edward Stewart and his anonymous stay at the costumed masquerade “Les Fêtes de l'Inconnu” in 1714.

• Konsky P. A. Stuart // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.