2-618-872 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, c17th century. Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, the 'Old Pretender'. The son of King James II and Mary of Modena, James Stuart (1688-1766) was a claimant to the English and Scottish thrones. In 1701, after James II died in exile in France, James proclaimed himself King James III of England and VIII of Scotland, a claim supported by Louis XIV of France. He attempted an invasion in 1708, but failed to land on British soil. After George I became king in 1714, a rebellion occurred in Scotland (the Jacobite 'Fifteen' uprising). James landed in Scotland to lead the uprising, but left after the Battle of Sheriffmuir when it became clear that he had insufficient support. By now France was at peace with England after signing the Treaty of Utrecht and James was a political embarrassment to his former hosts. He spent the rest of his life surrounded by a Jacobite court in the Palazzo Muti in Rome, given to him by Pope Clement XI. After a painting attributed to the school of Alexis Simon Belle (1674-1734) From The Connoisseur, Vol. XXIII by [Otto Limited, London, 1909]