Clementina Walkinshaw
Encyclopedia
Clementina Maria Sophia Walkinshaw (1720–1802) was the mistress of Bonnie Prince Charlie
.
Clementina (1720–1802) was the youngest of the ten daughters of John Walkinshaw of Barrowhill (1671–1731). The Walkinshaws owned the lands of Barrowfield
and Camlachie
, and her father had become a wealthy Glasgow
merchant (founding the textile village of Calton
). However, he was also an Episcopalian
and a Jacobite who had fought for the Prince's father in the rising of 1715, been captured at the Battle of Sheriffmuir
, before escaping from Stirling Castle
and fleeing to Europe. In 1717, he had been pardon
ed by the British Government and returned to Glasgow, where his youngest daughter was born probably at Camlachie. However, Clementina was largely educated on the Continent, and later converted to Roman Catholicism
. In 1746, she was living at the home of her uncle Sir Hugh Paterson
at Bannockburn
, near Stirling
. The Prince came to Sir Hugh's home in early January 1746 where he first met Clementina, and he returned later that month to be nursed by her from what appears to have been a cold. Given that she was living under her uncle's protection, it is not thought the two were lovers at this time.
in April 1746, Charles fled Scotland for France
. In the following years, he had a scandalous affair with his 22-year-old first cousin Louise de Montbazon
(who was married to his close friend, and whom he deserted when she became pregnant) and then with the Princess of Talmont, who was in her 40s. In 1752, he heard that Clementina was at Dunkirk and in some financial difficulties, so he sent 50 louis d'or to help her and then dispatched Sir Henry Goring
to entreat her to come to Ghent
and live with him as his mistress. Goring, who described Clementina as a "bad woman", complained of being used as “no better than a pimp”, and shortly after left Charles' employ. However, by November 1752, Clementina was living with Charles, and was to remain as his mistress for the following eight years. The couple moved to Liège where Charlotte, their only child, was born on 29 October 1753 and baptised into the Roman Catholic faith at the church of Sainte Marie-des-Fonts.
The relationship between prince and mistress was disastrous. Charles was already a disillusioned, angry alcoholic when they began living together, and he became violent towards, and insanely possessive of, Clementina, treating her as a "submissive whipping post". Often away from home on "jaunts", he seldom referred to his daughter, and when he did, it was as "ye cheild". During a temporary move to Paris, the Prince's lieutenants record ugly public arguments between the two, and that his drunkenness and temper were damaging his reputation. By 1760, they were in Basel
, and Clementina had had enough of his intoxication and their nomadic lifestyle. She contacted Charles's staunchly Roman Catholic father James Stuart
('the Old Pretender') and expressed a desire to secure a Catholic education for Charlotte and to retire to a convent. (In 1750, during an incognito visit to London, Charles had nominally disavowed Roman Catholicism for the Anglican Church.) James agreed to pay her an annuity of 10,000 livres
and, in July 1760, there is evidence to suggest he aided her escape from the watchful Charles, with the seven year-old Charlotte, to the convent of the Nuns of the Visitation in Paris
. She left a letter for Charles expressing her devotion to him but complaining she had had to flee in fear of her life. A furious Charles circulated descriptions of them both, but it was to no avail.
for assistance. Henry gave them an allowance of 5,000 livres, but in return extracted a statement from Clementina that she had never been married to Charles – a statement she later tried to retract. This lower amount forced them to find cheaper lodgings in the convent of Notre Dame at Meaux-en-Brie
.
In 1772, the Prince, then aged fifty-one, married the nineteen year-old Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
(who was only a year older than Charlotte). Charlotte, now in penury
, had consistently been writing to her father for some time, and she now desperately entreated him to legitimise her, provide support, and bring her to Rome before an heir could be born. In April 1772, Charlotte wrote a touching, yet pleading, letter to "mon Augusta Papa" which was sent via Principal Gordon of the Scots College
in Rome. Charles relented and offered to bring Charlotte to Rome
(he was now resident in the Palazzo Muti
– the residence of the Stuarts-in-exile), but only on condition she would leave her mother behind in France. This she loyally refused to do, and Charles, in fury, broke off all discussions.
Towards the end of 1772, Clementina and Charlotte unexpectedly arrived in Rome to press their desperate cause in person. (The trip pushed Clementina further into debt.) However, the Prince reacted angrily, refusing even to see them, forcing their helpless return to France, from where Charlotte's pleading letters continued. Three years later, Charlotte, now in her twenty-second year and already in poor health, (she was apparently suffering from a liver ailment shared by the Stuarts) decided her only option was to marry as soon as possible. Charles, however, refused to give permission either for her to marry or to take the veil, and she was left awaiting his royal pleasure.
Lacking legitimacy or permission, Charlotte was unable to marry. Thus, she otherwise sought a protector and provider. Probably unbeknown to Charles, she became the mistress of Ferdinand Maximilien Mériadec de Rohan
, Archbishop of Bordeaux and Cambrai
. She bore three of his children: Marie Victoire, Charlotte, and Charles Edward
. Her children were kept secret, and remained largely unknown until the 20th century.
as his caretaker in 1784. Her three children by Rohan were left behind in Clementina's care. Charlotte died at age 36 (17 November 1789) of liver cancer
at the Palazzo Vizzani Sanguinetti in Bologna. In her will, written just three days before her death, Charlotte left Clementina, a sum of 50,000 livres and an annuity of a further 15,000. However, it was two years before Cardinal Henry Stuart, her uncle and executor, and now considered by Jacobites to be King Henry IX, would release the money. Indeed, he only agreed to do this when Clementina signed a “quittance” renouncing, on behalf of herself and her descendants, any further claim on the estate.
Occasionally, it has been suggested that Prince Charles married Clementina Walkinshaw, and thus that Charlotte was legitimate and could legally claim to be her father's successor. However, there are no records to substantiate this claim, and the sworn affidavit signed by Clementina on 9 March 1767 explicitly disavows the idea. Further, Charles's initial disavowal of Charlotte speaks against her legitimacy.
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
.
Clementina (1720–1802) was the youngest of the ten daughters of John Walkinshaw of Barrowhill (1671–1731). The Walkinshaws owned the lands of Barrowfield
Barrowfield
Barrowfield is an area of east Glasgow in Camlachie, close to Celtic Park, home of Celtic Football Club.It is an area of working class housing enclosed by main roads and railway lines, which consequently developed a distinctive character...
and Camlachie
Camlachie
Camlachie is an area of the city of Glasgow in Scotland. Formerly a weaving village on the Camlachie Burn, it is located in the east end of the city, between Dennistoun to the north, and Bridgeton to the south....
, and her father had become a wealthy Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
merchant (founding the textile village of Calton
Calton, Glasgow
Calton is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The name Calton is derived from the Gaelic "coillduin", which means "wood on the hill". It is situated north of the River Clyde, and just to the east of the city centre...
). However, he was also an Episcopalian
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
and a Jacobite who had fought for the Prince's father in the rising of 1715, been captured at the Battle of Sheriffmuir
Battle of Sheriffmuir
The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...
, before escaping from Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
and fleeing to Europe. In 1717, he had been pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed by the British Government and returned to Glasgow, where his youngest daughter was born probably at Camlachie. However, Clementina was largely educated on the Continent, and later converted to Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. In 1746, she was living at the home of her uncle Sir Hugh Paterson
Sir Hugh Paterson, 2nd Baronet
Sir Hugh Paterson, 2nd Baronet was a Scottish Jacobite.The son of Sir Hugh Paterson, 1st Baronet by his wife Barbara, daughter of Sir William Ruthven of Dunglass and Katherine, daughter of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas, he succeeded his father as second Baronet, of Bannockburn, on 21...
at Bannockburn
Bannockburn
Bannockburn is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
, near Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
. The Prince came to Sir Hugh's home in early January 1746 where he first met Clementina, and he returned later that month to be nursed by her from what appears to have been a cold. Given that she was living under her uncle's protection, it is not thought the two were lovers at this time.
Relationship with Charles Stuart
After the defeat of the Prince's rebellion at CullodenBattle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
in April 1746, Charles fled Scotland for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In the following years, he had a scandalous affair with his 22-year-old first cousin Louise de Montbazon
Duchy of Montbazon
The Duchy of Montbazon is the area around Montbazon, near Tours, in France. During the Ancien Régime, Montbazon became a seigneurie held by the House of Rohan in the fifteenth century; was elevated to a comté in 1557, and raised to the level of a duchy in 1588.-List of Lords of Guéméné, ca...
(who was married to his close friend, and whom he deserted when she became pregnant) and then with the Princess of Talmont, who was in her 40s. In 1752, he heard that Clementina was at Dunkirk and in some financial difficulties, so he sent 50 louis d'or to help her and then dispatched Sir Henry Goring
Goring Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Goring, both in the Baronetage of England. The second creation came into the family through a special remainder in the patent creating the baronetcy...
to entreat her to come to Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and live with him as his mistress. Goring, who described Clementina as a "bad woman", complained of being used as “no better than a pimp”, and shortly after left Charles' employ. However, by November 1752, Clementina was living with Charles, and was to remain as his mistress for the following eight years. The couple moved to Liège where Charlotte, their only child, was born on 29 October 1753 and baptised into the Roman Catholic faith at the church of Sainte Marie-des-Fonts.
The relationship between prince and mistress was disastrous. Charles was already a disillusioned, angry alcoholic when they began living together, and he became violent towards, and insanely possessive of, Clementina, treating her as a "submissive whipping post". Often away from home on "jaunts", he seldom referred to his daughter, and when he did, it was as "ye cheild". During a temporary move to Paris, the Prince's lieutenants record ugly public arguments between the two, and that his drunkenness and temper were damaging his reputation. By 1760, they were in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, and Clementina had had enough of his intoxication and their nomadic lifestyle. She contacted Charles's staunchly Roman Catholic father James Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
('the Old Pretender') and expressed a desire to secure a Catholic education for Charlotte and to retire to a convent. (In 1750, during an incognito visit to London, Charles had nominally disavowed Roman Catholicism for the Anglican Church.) James agreed to pay her an annuity of 10,000 livres
French livre
The livre was the currency of France until 1795. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of both units of account and coins.-Etymology:...
and, in July 1760, there is evidence to suggest he aided her escape from the watchful Charles, with the seven year-old Charlotte, to the convent of the Nuns of the Visitation in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. She left a letter for Charles expressing her devotion to him but complaining she had had to flee in fear of her life. A furious Charles circulated descriptions of them both, but it was to no avail.
Life with her daughter
For the next twelve years, Clementina and Charlotte continued to live in various French convents, supported by the 10,000 livre pension granted by James Stuart. Charles never forgave Clementina for depriving him of "ye cheild", and stubbornly refused to pay anything for their support. On 1 January 1766 James died, but Charles, (now considering himself de jure Charles III of Scotland, England and Ireland) still refused to make any provision for the two, forcing Clementina, now styling herself "Countess Alberstroff", to appeal to his brother Cardinal Henry StuartHenry Benedict Stuart
Henry Benedict Stuart was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne...
for assistance. Henry gave them an allowance of 5,000 livres, but in return extracted a statement from Clementina that she had never been married to Charles – a statement she later tried to retract. This lower amount forced them to find cheaper lodgings in the convent of Notre Dame at Meaux-en-Brie
Meaux
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
.
In 1772, the Prince, then aged fifty-one, married the nineteen year-old Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
Princess Louise Maximilienne Caroline Emmanuele of Stolberg-Gedern was the wife of the Jacobite claimant to the English and Scottish thrones Charles Edward Stuart...
(who was only a year older than Charlotte). Charlotte, now in penury
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, had consistently been writing to her father for some time, and she now desperately entreated him to legitimise her, provide support, and bring her to Rome before an heir could be born. In April 1772, Charlotte wrote a touching, yet pleading, letter to "mon Augusta Papa" which was sent via Principal Gordon of the Scots College
The Scots College (Rome)
The Scots College in Rome was established by Clement VIII in 1600, when it was assigned the revenue of the old Scots' hospice...
in Rome. Charles relented and offered to bring Charlotte to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
(he was now resident in the Palazzo Muti
Palazzo Muti
The Palazzo Muti should not be confused with the Palazzo Muti Papazzurri in the Piazza della Pilotta which was designed by Mattia de' Rossi in 1660....
– the residence of the Stuarts-in-exile), but only on condition she would leave her mother behind in France. This she loyally refused to do, and Charles, in fury, broke off all discussions.
Towards the end of 1772, Clementina and Charlotte unexpectedly arrived in Rome to press their desperate cause in person. (The trip pushed Clementina further into debt.) However, the Prince reacted angrily, refusing even to see them, forcing their helpless return to France, from where Charlotte's pleading letters continued. Three years later, Charlotte, now in her twenty-second year and already in poor health, (she was apparently suffering from a liver ailment shared by the Stuarts) decided her only option was to marry as soon as possible. Charles, however, refused to give permission either for her to marry or to take the veil, and she was left awaiting his royal pleasure.
Lacking legitimacy or permission, Charlotte was unable to marry. Thus, she otherwise sought a protector and provider. Probably unbeknown to Charles, she became the mistress of Ferdinand Maximilien Mériadec de Rohan
Ferdinand Maximilien Mériadec de Rohan
Ferdinand Maximilien Mériadec de Rohan was an Archbishop of Bordeaux starting in 1769, and Prince-Archbishop of Cambrai from 1781. He was the son of Hercule Meriadec de Rohan, prince de Guéméné and Louise-Gabrielle Julie de Rohan; brother of cardinal de Rohan, and Jules, prince de Guéméné.Mériadec...
, Archbishop of Bordeaux and Cambrai
Archbishopric of Bordeaux
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bordeaux, the full name of which since 20 November 1937 has been the Archdiocese of Bordeaux-Bazas, is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. The episcopal seat is located in Bordeaux, Aquitaine...
. She bore three of his children: Marie Victoire, Charlotte, and Charles Edward
Charles Edward Stuart, Count Roehenstart
Charles Edward Augustus Maximilian Stuart, Baron Korff, Count Roehenstart was the natural son of Prince Ferdinand of Rohan , Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cambrai, by Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany, herself the natural but legitimated daughter of Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender...
. Her children were kept secret, and remained largely unknown until the 20th century.
Later life
Charlotte was legitimatized in 1783, and joined her ailing father, Charles, in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
as his caretaker in 1784. Her three children by Rohan were left behind in Clementina's care. Charlotte died at age 36 (17 November 1789) of liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
at the Palazzo Vizzani Sanguinetti in Bologna. In her will, written just three days before her death, Charlotte left Clementina, a sum of 50,000 livres and an annuity of a further 15,000. However, it was two years before Cardinal Henry Stuart, her uncle and executor, and now considered by Jacobites to be King Henry IX, would release the money. Indeed, he only agreed to do this when Clementina signed a “quittance” renouncing, on behalf of herself and her descendants, any further claim on the estate.
Occasionally, it has been suggested that Prince Charles married Clementina Walkinshaw, and thus that Charlotte was legitimate and could legally claim to be her father's successor. However, there are no records to substantiate this claim, and the sworn affidavit signed by Clementina on 9 March 1767 explicitly disavows the idea. Further, Charles's initial disavowal of Charlotte speaks against her legitimacy.