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Bonnie Prince Charlie AKA The Young Pretender

Posted by Bruce Kahl on February 11, 2004

In Reply to: A "young pretender" posted by ESC on February 11, 2004

: : : : : What does it mean to call someone a 'young pretender'? And where does the term come from?

: : : : It's a royalty thing. From infoplease:

: : : : PRETENDER -- Pronunciation: (pri-ten'dur), [key]
: : : : -n.
: : : : 1. a person who pretends, esp. for a dishonest purpose.
: : : : 2. an aspirant or claimant (often fol. by to): a pretender to the throne.
: : : : 3. a person who makes unjustified or false claims, statements, etc., as about personal status, abilities, intentions, or the like: a pretender to literary genius.

: : : And from Merriam-Webster online:

: : : PRETENDER: Function: noun
: : : : one that pretends : as a : one who lays claim to something; specifically : a claimant to a throne who is held to have no just title b : one who makes a false or hypocritical show

: : Interesting ... so someone who is a poseur, claiming to be a social prince or princess, could be considered a young pretender.

: I believe that's accurate.

From Encyclopedia.Com:

"1720-88, claimant to the British throne, b. Rome. First son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), he was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie and as the Young Pretender. When the failures and irregular life of the Old Pretender had alienated his followers, Charles Edward, a charming young man, magnanimous and brave, became the hope of the Jacobites . He led them in the rising of 1745, but all his enthusiasm could not avert the defeat at Culloden Moor in 1746. Charles fled to a Highland refuge, then escaped abroad with the aid of Flora Macdonald . He was expelled from France after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and roamed about Europe, a broken drunkard. After his father's death he lived in Rome as the self-styled count of Albany and in 1772 married Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern (see Albany, Louisa, countess of ). They separated in 1780, and Charles Edward was attended in his later years by his illegitimate daughter, Charlotte. He died in Rome. There is much English and Scottish poetry and romantic literature about Bonnie Prince Charlie."

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