A Morbid History of Bonnie Prince Charlie

         Waverley introduced us to a wide variety of characters. From the opposition of Flora and Rose, to Fergus, Baron Bradwardine, and Cecelia Stubbs, it is without question that Sir Walter Scott provided his readers with an entertaining bunch. However, I thought one of the most interesting characters was Bonnie Prince Charlie, and thought it was cool to see him fictionalized in the novel. I was also surprised to learn that “the 

Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1785 

young pretender” died in Rome. After doing some more digging, I found that his death was even more involved than I initially thought. The prince had a long history of medical problems, and was so sick he was given the sacraments in 1783, five years before he actually passed away. While he ultimately died of a stroke, Charles Edward Stuart had asthma, high blood pressure, and swollen legs, the last of which required him to be carried to and from his carriage. He also suffered from alcoholism. If it couldn’t get worse for the Prince, or those around him, he only had one child survive infancy, an “illegitimate” daughter he had through an affair, and later, when he married, his marriage ended in separation/divorce

The Prince’s, His Father’s, and His Brother’s Tomb

without any heirs. When Bonnie Prince Charlie did die on January 30th, 1788, his day of death was altered to the 31st because the Cardinals believed it was unlucky for him to have died on the same day as his great-grandfather. Then, he was originally buried at Frascati Cathedral, but was later moved to St.Peter’s Basilica so his remains would be with those of his brother and father. This seems like a nice ending to Bonnie Prince Charlie’s story, and it is, but it also comes with an unexpected twist. Charles’s heart remained at Frascati Cathedral, where it is interred in an urn under a monument. The more you know!