James Edward Stuart - an episode in exile
Posted by JamesL
on 13/7/2023, 19:25:57
Edited by JamesL on 13/7/2023, 19:30:11
While researching something else entirely I was on the pages of this magazine - linked below - and also found this other article on a period in the life in exile of Prince James Edward Stuart ("The Old Pretender"). What seemed very intriguing in this account of a relatively short time of Prince James at this French court, is the covert but intense observation of his actions and interractions by persons who were apparently reporting it all swiftly back to the powers-that-be at the Court of St. James. What I came away with as a reader was how - even in the earlier 18th century - politics and power could put someone under a microscope to such a surprising degree. I say "surprising" of course because obviously the "observing" or "reporting" parties only had their human eyes and ears - and a pen or a horse to transmit the information back to the interested parties across the Channel! I know little about the remainder of his life, but assume a lot of it was subject to the same sort of covert but deliberate scrutiny... History Today (June 2023) https:/https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/many-happy-returns
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