Countdown to Jacobites show at National Museum of Scotland

Piece by piece, the forthcoming Jacobites exhibition at the National Museums of Scotland fits into place.
A portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie receives its final inspection from senior curator Deborah Clarke at the Palace of Holyrood House . PIC:  Stewart Attwood.A portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie receives its final inspection from senior curator Deborah Clarke at the Palace of Holyrood House . PIC:  Stewart Attwood.
A portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie receives its final inspection from senior curator Deborah Clarke at the Palace of Holyrood House . PIC: Stewart Attwood.

Pictured is Deborah Clarke, senior curator at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, giving this portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie a final inspection before it is sent off for the major summer show.

Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites opens at the Chambers Street museum on June 23.

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The portrait by Louis Gabriel Blanchet, which usually hangs in the Royal Dining Room at the palace, shows Charles Edward Stuart at 19, in full princely regalia.

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Painted in Rome in 1739, The Stuarts by this time had been in exile in Europe for over 50 years, first in France and then Rome, where Charles grew up.

By September 1745, the Prince was holding court at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where he stayed for around six weeks.

From here he lay siege to the city while throwing glamorous balls at night for his supporters.

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The painting hangs alongside a portrait of Charles’ younger brother, Henry Benedict Stuart, that was painted around the same time by Blanchet.

The two works are included in a dozen items from the Royal Collection that will loaned by the palace to the Chambers Street museum for the summer show.

Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites will be the largest exhibition on the Jacobites in over 70 years, with over 300 objects on show combining National Museums Scotland’s collection with material on loan from around the UK and Europe.

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