Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,995
A Wannabe King!
On March 23, 1708, James Francis Edward Stuart...
... son of the deposed English King James II, lands on the Firth of Forth in Scotland to defend his claims to the throne against the reigning Queen Anne...
Stuart, half-mockingly nicknamed "The Old Pretender", is only able to do this thanks to the generous help of his patron, the French Sun King Louis XIX.
The fleet that takes him and his people to Scotland is also French and is commanded by an admiral of the Sun King, Claude de Forbin...:
However, the English wannebe ruler made a huge blunder in the whole operation!
He relies on the support of the Scots - after all, the Stuarts themselves come from Scotland. But after just a few speeches and bombastic proclamations...
..becomes clear: The Scots won't help him!
They want a king, but one from Scotland - but they reject someone who intends to govern the forced union between England and Scotland as an English king!
The French fleet cannot help him either - he succeeds, pursued by English ships under Admiral George Byng...
...nearly escape back to France.
To make matters worse, the pretender to the throne is now also getting sick - and has to stay in bed longer. The Scottish climate is different than that of the Loire!
While he was still lying there malade, Queen Anne, whom he actually wanted to overthrow, dies - and Duke Georg Ludwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg from the Welf family becomes her successor as George I...:
The only option left for The Old Pretender is to return to France.
But even there he was unlucky:
After the death of his patron Louis XIV in September 1715, he was "asked" to leave France, one could more accurately say: chased out of the country!
Only the Pope - at that time he was called Clemens XI.
...is ready to take him in. So the ex-wannabe king moves to Avignon on papal territory.
In 1719 the Pope finally invited him to Rome, where "The Old Pretender" (contemporary caricature)...
...dies on January 1, 1766.
After all, he managed to be buried in a prominent place: in St. Peter's Basilica.
On March 23, 1708, James Francis Edward Stuart...
... son of the deposed English King James II, lands on the Firth of Forth in Scotland to defend his claims to the throne against the reigning Queen Anne...
Stuart, half-mockingly nicknamed "The Old Pretender", is only able to do this thanks to the generous help of his patron, the French Sun King Louis XIX.
The fleet that takes him and his people to Scotland is also French and is commanded by an admiral of the Sun King, Claude de Forbin...:
However, the English wannebe ruler made a huge blunder in the whole operation!
He relies on the support of the Scots - after all, the Stuarts themselves come from Scotland. But after just a few speeches and bombastic proclamations...
..becomes clear: The Scots won't help him!
They want a king, but one from Scotland - but they reject someone who intends to govern the forced union between England and Scotland as an English king!
The French fleet cannot help him either - he succeeds, pursued by English ships under Admiral George Byng...
...nearly escape back to France.
To make matters worse, the pretender to the throne is now also getting sick - and has to stay in bed longer. The Scottish climate is different than that of the Loire!
While he was still lying there malade, Queen Anne, whom he actually wanted to overthrow, dies - and Duke Georg Ludwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg from the Welf family becomes her successor as George I...:
The only option left for The Old Pretender is to return to France.
But even there he was unlucky:
After the death of his patron Louis XIV in September 1715, he was "asked" to leave France, one could more accurately say: chased out of the country!
Only the Pope - at that time he was called Clemens XI.
...is ready to take him in. So the ex-wannabe king moves to Avignon on papal territory.
In 1719 the Pope finally invited him to Rome, where "The Old Pretender" (contemporary caricature)...
...dies on January 1, 1766.
After all, he managed to be buried in a prominent place: in St. Peter's Basilica.
