Jacobite Rebellion Of 1745

In November of 1724, Clementina accused James of carrying on an affair with Marjorie Hay, a woman whom James had recently appointed as Lady Inverness. At the same time, James had announced that Charles and his younger brother, Harry, would be trained in both Catholicism and Protestantism. It is assumed that in efforts of absorbing the shock of the announcements, Clementina, an extremely devout Catholic, concluded that an affair was evident. Pope Benedict VIII investigated both the love affair and the educational dispute, settling the former through discussion and the latter through demand that the children be raised in the traditional Catholic manner.
             Few specifics were known of Charles during these years. He was reared by his fifty-year-old cousin Sir Thomas Sheridan and taught trades of battle. Sheridan described Charles as a master of the bow and arrow by age six, and the boy seemed motivated in the practice. By age eight, Charles had vastly improved physically and seemed to fit his earlier, misconceived, proud descriptions. In the summer of 1734, when he was thirteen, it was deemed fit for Charles to travel to Gaeth to experience the territorial battle between Spain and Italy. Charles proved to be captivated and daring in the setting, as he showed extreme interest in witnessing all the most dangerous positions. Bonnie Prince Charlie, even though he had had no formal training in military strategy, decided that he would lead a military life.
             Through this international activity, Charles Edward began to accompany his father as the recipients of support for a Stuart return to the throne. Charles became fascinated by his Scottish heritage as contact with the "highlanders- became more regular. With a return to the throne seeming more possible because of England's newly-at-war status (Britain declared war on Spain in 1739), Charles sailed to the west coast of Scotland in July 1745.