WATCH: video marks 275th anniversary of a meeting between Madame de Pompadour and Bonnie Prince Charles after his escape from Culloden
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
This month, October 2021, marks the 275th anniversary of the only meeting between two of the most enigmatic and charismatic personalities of the 18th-century, Madame de Pompadour and Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
On Sunday October 23 1746, the Marquise de Pompadour invited the Prince and his entourage to a soirée at her residence in Fontainebleau.
At the time of their meeting, Madame de Pompadour was aged just 24, while Prince Charles was a year older at 25.
“Their encounter was more than a pleasant social engagement between a young man and a young woman,” commented Michael Nevin, chairman of The 1745 Association, who tells the story of their meeting in a YouTube video.
“Two weeks earlier, the Prince had landed in Brittany following his escape from Scotland after Culloden, and was keen to win the support of the Marquise, the French King’s closest and most trusted adviser, to continue his campaign to win the British throne.
"Their meeting was to have profound significance for them personally, for their nations, and indeed for the history of Europe, and proved to be the final act of the Auld Alliance.”
The 24-minute video marking the anniversary of their meeting, “When Madame de Pompadour met Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tragedy in Three Acts”, is free to view on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9fzkyMZKRg
