The last Stuart court
In the autumn of 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie held court at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh — the ancient seat of the Scottish monarchy — in what would prove to be the last time a Stuart prince occupied a Scottish royal palace. For six extraordinary weeks, Holyrood was the centre of a revived Stuart court, complete with balls, levees, military parades, and the trappings of royal authority.
The prince had entered Edinburgh on 17 September after the city surrendered without a fight. He took up residence in his ancestors' palace and immediately set about projecting an image of legitimate kingship. His father, James Francis Edward Stuart — the "Old Pretender" — was proclaimed King James VIII at the Mercat Cross. Charles held formal audiences in the Long Gallery, surrounded by portraits of over a hundred Scottish monarchs, real and legendary, painted by Jacob de Wet.
The court at Holyrood was a deliberate exercise in Stuart propaganda. Charles received visitors, heard petitions, and hosted balls where Highland chiefs danced alongside Edinburgh's fashionable society. The prince himself was young, handsome, and charismatic — even observers who were privately Hanoverian found him impressive. He wore Highland dress, spoke with dignity, and played the role of a rightful prince reclaiming his inheritance. For those who had dreamed of a Stuart restoration, it was an intoxicating moment.
But the reality was more fragile than the pageantry suggested. Edinburgh Castle remained in Government hands, its guns pointed at the city. Many of Edinburgh's merchants and professionals were quietly hostile. The prince's army, camped in the King's Park below Arthur's Seat, was impressive in a Highland charge but lacked artillery, cavalry, and the supplies needed for a sustained campaign. Within weeks, the army marched south to Prestonpans and then into England. The court at Holyrood was over. No Stuart would ever hold court in Scotland again.