Prince Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart (1720-1788), called the Young Pretender and Bonnie Prince Charlie, was the last member of the Stuart line to prosecute actively the Stuart claim to the English and Scottish thrones.

Charles Edward Stuart was born in Rome on Dec. 31, 1720, the eldest son of James Francis Edward Stuart, commonly styled the Old Pretender. His mother was Princess Clementina. As a result of disagreements between his parents, Charles received a desultory education at the hands of Jesuit priests, Protestants, and Jacobite soldiers. However, he developed a taste for music and the other fine arts and was an intelligent conversationalist.

Charles served with credit under the Duke of Liria at the siege of Gaeta (1734), and as he grew up--charming, magnanimous, and brave--he increasingly became the focus of the waning Jacobite cause. In July 1745, encouraged by promises of French aid and Scottish sympathy, he sailed for...