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The
Stuarts of Naples—Bonnie Prince Jacopo
Braunschweig Lüneburg Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
was
threatening
to sink the British Isles into the
North Sea, greatly affecting the war effort. Thus, in
1917, the British renamed their royal house to
“Windsor”; one, it started with the same letter as
“Wettin” and, two, there was a swell castle in the
town of Windsor. The name change to Windsor amused
the enemy, cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II, who remarked
that he now planned to take in a performance of
Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha! (And who says that Germans
have no sense of humor?!) Back
to Charles II. Although he had no legitimate heirs, he
did sire a dozen little bastards. Many of them
received duchies or earldoms just as consolation
prizes. (Eventually, however, what goes around comes
around; that is, the late Diana, Princess of Wales,
was descended from one of Charles’ children. If her
son, William, ever becomes king, he will be descended
from Charles II and, thus, be a Stuart. I think. But
am not sure. And don’t really care.) Some
of what went around may, however, have come around to
Naples, of all places. At
an early age Charles II apparently had an illegitimate
child (probably his first) in 1646 (precocious!) by a
noble lady on the island of Jersey. That son was
educated in France under the name of James de la
Cloche du Bourg. Charles apparently acknowledged his
paternity and provided money for his son, under the
provision that James reside in London and that he not
forsake the Protestant faith. James, however, became a
Catholic and entered a monastery in Rome in 1668. Shortly
thereafter,
with the hope of finally achieving public recognition
as the son of Charles and obtaining whatever might
accrue to him as birthright, he traveled to England.
There is a brief period of silence in known
documentation, after which, in March 1669, one James
Stuart, claiming to be our James de la Cloche du Bourg
shows up in Naples. He is no longer a monk, but is
decked out regally and has papers to back up his
claim, including letters from Charles. Most
who have written about this—including others not
listed in the bibliography (below)—think he was a fake
and that his papers were forgeries. Steuart (1903)
thinks he was authentic. Whatever the case, it is
moot, since Charles’ other “eldest son,” James Crofts,
had already been recognized as such, and Don Jacopo
Stuardo, as he was called in Naples, was left to his
own devices. He—whoever
he
was—married
one
Teresa Corona in February of 1669 in the chapel of S.
Aspremo in the Naples Cathedral. James roused
suspicion by his boasting and the Spanish viceroy had
him locked up in Gaeta and then in the horrible prison
of the Vicaria in Naples. His wife—apparently related
to the noble Orsini family—managed to get him sprung.
He died in Naples in August, 1669. He
left a son, James, who married Lucia Minelli di Riccia
in 1711. On March 30, 1726, this son obtained a
certificate from Cardinal Pignatelli in Naples
recognizing him as prince Don Giacomo Stuardo, the
posthumous heir of Don Jacopo Enrico di Bove Stuardo,
Filius Naturalis Caroli Secondi Regis
Angliae (natural son of Charles II, king of
England). Son James fell into troubles in his life,
including prison in Naples, though he eventually did
manage to have some of his father’s estate returned.
There is a letter apparently written by James from the
year 1752. After that, he disappears. Apparently he
left no children. bibliography:
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The reason that
there is still today a German dynasty (!) in Britain
is that Charles II (a Stuart) (1630-1685) and his
queen consort, Catherine of Portugal, produced no
heirs. This led to a chain of events that brought the
German house of Hanover, rulers of the Duchy of