2876 x 3337 px | 24,4 x 28,3 cm | 9,6 x 11,1 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
1688
Altre informazioni:
Prince James, Prince of Wales (James Francis Edward Stuart; "The Old Pretender" or "The Old Chevalier"; 10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) was the son of the deposed James II and VII. As such, he claimed the English, Scottish and Irish thrones (as James III and VIII) from the death of his father in 1701, when he was proclaimed king of England, Scotland and Ireland by his cousin Louis XIV of France. Following his death in 1766 he was succeeded by his son Charles Edward Stuart in the Jacobite Succession. Having been delayed in France by an attack of measles, James attempted an invasion, trying to land at the Firth of Forth on 23 March 1708. His French ships were driven back by the fleet of Admiral Sir George Byng. Had he renounced his Roman Catholic faith, he might have strengthened the existing support of Tory, pro-Restoration forces in England, but he refused to do so. As a result, in 1714, a German Protestant became King—George I of Great Britain. French forces were defeated, and Louis XIV of France was forced to accept peace with England and her allies. He signed the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, that, amongst other conditions, required him to expel James from France. Pope Clement XI offered James the Palazzo Muti in Rome as his residence, and he accepted. Innocent XIII, like his predecessor, showed much support. Thanks to the mediation of a close friend of his, Cardinal Filippo Antonio Gualterio, James was granted a life annuity of eight thousand Roman scudi. Such help enabled him to organise a Roman Jacobite court, where the Pope's cousin, Francesco Maria Conti of Siena, was the Gentiluomo di camera (Chamberlain).
