0:00:04 > 0:00:072014.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09The year of a referendum on whether Scotland should remain
0:00:09 > 0:00:11part of the United Kingdom.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16When were the eyes of Europe, and indeed the world,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19last so intently focused on Scotland and Scottish politics?
0:00:23 > 0:00:25When was the Union last so threatened?
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Possibly not since the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35And back in 1745,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39portraits of this man, Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41had a huge role to play.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47'I'm Dr Bendor Grosvenor,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50I'm an art detective and a historian.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54And in this programme, I'm setting out to unravel
0:00:54 > 0:00:57one of the greatest mysteries in Scottish art.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I want to find a lost portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06one that might have been painted in Scotland
0:01:06 > 0:01:10'during his doomed attempt to regain the crown in 1745.'
0:01:16 > 0:01:19There are portraits of Charles Edward Stuart as a young boy.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23There are portraits of him as an old man, too,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25when he cuts quite a sad figure,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27broken by drink and disappointment.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34But no portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie from 1745
0:01:34 > 0:01:36are known to survive,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39when he was a determined 24-year-old
0:01:39 > 0:01:42leading the Jacobite uprising,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45when he was the warrior prince.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It's always been thought that no portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:01:48 > 0:01:51was ever painted while he was here in Scotland
0:01:51 > 0:01:53leading the Jacobite Rebellion.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55But I suspect that at least one picture of him
0:01:55 > 0:01:57was painted while he was here,
0:01:57 > 0:01:58and I'm determined to find it.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04'In this programme, I will travel the length and breadth of Britain
0:02:04 > 0:02:07'in search of the real Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:02:07 > 0:02:10'and in search of what I believe is his lost portrait.'
0:02:11 > 0:02:14God, it's really good, isn't it?
0:02:14 > 0:02:16'This is an exploration
0:02:16 > 0:02:19'of one of Scotland's most fascinating and enigmatic heroes,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'using art to tell his incredible story.'
0:02:39 > 0:02:42After leaving exile in Italy, travelling to France,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45and then to the Western Isles,
0:02:45 > 0:02:46on the 25th of July, 1745,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Bonnie Prince Charlie set foot on the Scottish mainland
0:02:50 > 0:02:52for the first time in his life.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02When Charles landed here at Borrowdale in the Western Highlands,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04he came with great hope and determination,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06but not really much else.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08He'd left France with two ships,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11but the one carrying all the troops and the money and the weapons
0:03:11 > 0:03:14had been intercepted by the Royal Navy and forced to flee.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19So when Charles came ashore on this beach with his invasion force,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21it consisted of just 12 men,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23and one of those was a priest.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28It wasn't exactly what you would call a promising start.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39This, though, is why Charles is one of my heroes -
0:03:39 > 0:03:41because he thought nothing of such a set-back.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43In fact, he sent away his one remaining ship
0:03:43 > 0:03:46so he had no choice but to proceed.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49And when the first Highland chief he met here
0:03:49 > 0:03:52told him rather bluntly to go home, he replied simply,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54"Home? I am come home."
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Bonnie Prince Charlie's whole life
0:04:03 > 0:04:05had been designed for this very moment -
0:04:05 > 0:04:08mounting a campaign to finally regain the throne
0:04:08 > 0:04:10for the Stuarts and his father.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25But why am I looking for a lost portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie?
0:04:25 > 0:04:26I'm not Scottish.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I do love investigating art, of course,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31but there's more to it than that.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34You could say I have a debt to pay.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39I have a confession to make - I've a bit of a history
0:04:39 > 0:04:42with a painting that used to hang in this gallery,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44a picture that used to be known
0:04:44 > 0:04:47as Scotland's best-loved portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Back in 2008, I discovered that it wasn't in fact him,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53but his younger brother, Henry.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05'Now Henry's not even on display in Scotland any more.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07'I've had to ask for him to be brought out
0:05:07 > 0:05:10'of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery stores
0:05:10 > 0:05:11'so I can see him face to face.'
0:05:13 > 0:05:14'And I feel a bit bad for him,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16'consigned to the stores
0:05:16 > 0:05:19'for unwittingly impersonating his elder brother.'
0:05:21 > 0:05:23The two brothers look quite similar,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and over the years, the identities had been muddled up.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28The main reason is that Henry, our man here,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30later became a Catholic cardinal
0:05:30 > 0:05:34and so was normally shown in his red cardinal's robes.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36But here, he's painted in armour,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and because Henry was the slightly better-looking of the two brothers,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41and because this picture was painted
0:05:41 > 0:05:44shortly after the Jacobite Rebellion,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47it fitted the bill perfectly for a heroic, dashing image
0:05:47 > 0:05:50of Bonnie Prince Charlie leading his troops into battle.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Now, in its artistic quality,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55it's actually one of the best pictures
0:05:55 > 0:05:58that the National Portrait Gallery here in Scotland owns.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59It's a beautiful pastel
0:05:59 > 0:06:02by the French artist Maurice Quentin de La Tour.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04In fact, it's one of his finest works, I think.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08However, it just isn't Bonnie Prince Charlie.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09It's the wrong man.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17When everyone thought that the pastel portrait
0:06:17 > 0:06:18of Prince Henry in armour
0:06:18 > 0:06:20was Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23it hung in pride of place in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27It appeared in historical exhibitions,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30adorned shortbread tins...
0:06:30 > 0:06:31and bookcovers.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34When I raised the sticky issue
0:06:34 > 0:06:37that the portrait wasn't Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Scotland lost its most iconic image of her Warrior Prince.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Back in 1688, Charles's grandfather, James II,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52had been deposed, essentially for being a Catholic,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and was replaced by his Protestant daughters, Mary,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and then later, Queen Anne.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02But when it was realised that neither Mary nor Anne
0:07:02 > 0:07:06would have any surviving heirs, there was something of a crisis.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Who would succeed to the throne?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12As the Protestant ruling classes unfurled their royal family tree
0:07:12 > 0:07:14in the search for an heir,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17they realised that they had a bit of a problem.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19In strictly genealogical terms -
0:07:19 > 0:07:22that's the way a hereditary monarchy normally works -
0:07:22 > 0:07:23the next in line to the throne
0:07:23 > 0:07:26was the son of James II, James III,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28our Bonnie Prince Charlie's dad.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30However, he was a Catholic,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and, of course, that wouldn't do.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34So to exclude James III from the throne,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37the English Parliament cunningly declared
0:07:37 > 0:07:40that you could only be monarch if you were a Protestant.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42But to find their Protestant heir,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45the Parliament first had to exclude quite a few Catholic ones.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Grandchildren of James I.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Charles Louis - Catholic. Charles Louis II - Catholic.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Princess of Denmark - Catholic.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Duke of Orleans - Catholic.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Another Duke of Orleans - Catholic.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Catholic, Catholic, Catholic.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02'In fact, the first 57 individuals in line to the throne
0:08:02 > 0:08:04'were all Catholic.'
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Catholic, Catholic, Catholic, Catholic...
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Until eventually, they found their Protestant heir
0:08:11 > 0:08:14in the person of Prince George of Hanover in Germany.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Now, he'd never been to England before,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and, of course, didn't speak a word of English.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21But because he said his prayers in the right way, he was in,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23and the Catholic Stuarts were out.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25And that's how we ended up with the Hanoverians
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and all these German Georges.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39But the exiled Stuarts in
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Rome hadn't given up on the British Crown,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45and one of the biggest weapons in their armoury was portraiture.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47They went to huge effort and expense
0:08:47 > 0:08:50distributing portraits of their young princes across Europe.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52It was their way of reminding the world
0:08:52 > 0:08:56that although the Stuart kings had been expelled from Britain,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59they refused to be out of sight and out of mind.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The Stuart PR campaign was surprisingly successful,
0:09:08 > 0:09:13and, by 1745, it could still rely on the support of people across Europe.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15These supporters were known as Jacobites,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18which comes from the Latin for James, Jacobus.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20And it was King James III's two sons,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Bonnie Prince Charlie and Prince Henry,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26who were still keeping the Stuart claim to the throne very much alive.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35So I'm going to mount my own campaign.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40I want to follow in Bonnie Prince Charlie's footsteps through Scotland
0:09:40 > 0:09:43in the hope of finding a lost portrait of the Prince
0:09:43 > 0:09:45or clues as to where one might be.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08And my first point of call is Glenfinnan,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard
0:10:11 > 0:10:15on the 19th of August, 1745, where he gathered the clans.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18PIPE BAND PLAYS
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Today, the Glenfinnan Gathering still takes place
0:10:28 > 0:10:30on the Saturday closest to the 19th of August.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Representatives of the clans that turned up
0:10:35 > 0:10:37to swear allegiance to Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:10:37 > 0:10:41still take part in a procession with clan standards held aloft.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47In 1745, this gathering marked the start
0:10:47 > 0:10:50of Bonnie Prince Charlie's military campaign
0:10:50 > 0:10:52to regain the throne for the Stuart kings.
0:10:56 > 0:10:591,200 clansmen turned out that day to pledge their support.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07After Charles raised the Jacobite standard -
0:11:07 > 0:11:09a simple red banner with a white square in the middle,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13possibly on this very spot - it was ceremoniously blessed,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and then his father King James's manifesto was read out.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18That promised three crucial things -
0:11:18 > 0:11:21first, to recall the Scottish Parliament,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23second, to end punitive taxation,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and third, to restore Scottish independence.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Now, all this pleased the gathered clansmen so much
0:11:28 > 0:11:31that it's reported that they threw their bonnets in the air
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and huzzahed three times,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36crying out loud, "Long live King James,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38"Charles, Prince of Wales,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40"prosperity to Scotland and no union!"
0:11:42 > 0:11:46The Highlanders wanted a better deal. The Prince wanted the throne.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Everyone was looking out for their own interests.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Charles became known as Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:11:55 > 0:11:58while he was in Scotland in 1745.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02He was described as being a good-looking man
0:12:02 > 0:12:04of about five feet ten inches,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06with dark red hair and black eyes.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12It was also noted that the Prince's features were regular,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15his visage long, and his countenance thoughtful and melancholy.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Whether good-looking or not,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24it strikes me that Charles must have been a very charismatic individual.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28After all, if he was able to persuade wily clan chiefs
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and 1,200 clansmen to come to his support,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34just days after landing on a beach with absolutely nothing,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37then that must be evidence that he was a very persuasive person.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40In fact, it was said around these parts in 1745
0:12:40 > 0:12:43that if this Prince once set eyes upon you,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45he would make you do whatever he pleased.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55'What I wouldn't give to see that face that inspired so many!
0:12:57 > 0:12:58'But where to start looking?
0:13:00 > 0:13:03If there is a lost portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:13:03 > 0:13:04hidden somewhere in Scotland,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I think it could be with one of the ancient families
0:13:07 > 0:13:10who stood with the Prince from the start of his campaign.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I've come to visit the current Chief of Clan Cameron,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Cameron of Lochiel,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22who still lives in the ancestral home quite close to Glenfinnan.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Along with the MacDonalds,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26the Camerons were the main clan
0:13:26 > 0:13:29who turned up to pledge their support to Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:13:29 > 0:13:30at Glenfinnan in 1745.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36So, your ancestor, the 19th Cameron of Lochiel,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39who I spy over your shoulder here,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41was one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's first supporters?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44That's true. He actually went to persuade him
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- that he hadn't got a hope.- Right.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- Having landed in Eriskay with seven men.- Uh-huh.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52But he was swung over, I think,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55because Bonnie Prince Charlie was alone, aged 24,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57in what was nearly Cameron country
0:13:57 > 0:14:01and he felt he couldn't desert him just like that.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03So, against his better judgment,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- he joined Glenfinnan with about 700 Camerons.- Right.
0:14:07 > 0:14:08And if they hadn't, some people say
0:14:08 > 0:14:12there would never have been a Jacobite uprising that year.
0:14:14 > 0:14:15I see. So do you...
0:14:15 > 0:14:18With the benefit of hindsight, I suppose, it's easy to say,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21but do you think he should have gone to help him or stayed out of it?
0:14:23 > 0:14:25It was a mistake.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I think we let our heart rule our head.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30"Cameron" is an anagram of romance,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32and not a lot of clans can say that.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Assuming, if Cameron of Lochiel number 19
0:14:36 > 0:14:39was one of Bonnie Prince Charlie's most fervent supporters,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42perhaps he might have had a picture of him, of Charlie?
0:14:42 > 0:14:45- Well, we've got this little miniature.- A little miniature?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Which is supposedly given to the Gentle Lochiel,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52as he was known, by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53Right.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56So now this little label here says
0:14:56 > 0:14:58"miniature of Prince Charles Edward Stuart,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02"given by him to the Gentle Lochiel in 1745."
0:15:02 > 0:15:05I suppose this would make perfect sense, actually,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07because if anybody was going to be given a picture
0:15:07 > 0:15:09of Bonnie Prince Charlie during the rebellion,
0:15:09 > 0:15:10it would be your ancestor,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13because we know Charles was interested in his own image
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and gave it out quite freely.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18And a miniature would be quite a good thing, I suppose,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21to give out during a fast-paced rebellion.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24However...
0:15:26 > 0:15:28..my immediate instinct
0:15:28 > 0:15:31is that this is probably not an 18th-century miniature.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35It doesn't feel quite like an 18th-century image.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38The technique and the application of the pigments
0:15:38 > 0:15:40- is 19th-century, I think.- Right.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42I'm sorry to be the slight bearer of bad news.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44No, no, it's all right.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45But I think that's a good legend,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48so let's just pretend this conversation never happened...
0:15:48 > 0:15:49We'll put it all back
0:15:49 > 0:15:51and you can bring it out at parties
0:15:51 > 0:15:54and it'll be your Jacobite memento.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56It's not worth getting a second opinion?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I'm slightly disappointed that Cameron of Lochiel's miniature
0:16:05 > 0:16:07doesn't date from the 18th century.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17But I suppose the danger of supporting the Prince
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and the danger of possessing a portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:16:20 > 0:16:22after the 1745 uprising
0:16:22 > 0:16:27is something that could work against me finding anything original today.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Down the road at the West Highland Museum in Fort William,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35I've arranged to meet Professor Hugh Cheape
0:16:35 > 0:16:37to find out a little more
0:16:37 > 0:16:40about how portraits of the Prince were ingeniously hidden.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45So, Professor, this place is full of Jacobite treasures.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Well, it is remarkable.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51It's a wonderful collection, and this is, one might dare say,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- the tip of the iceberg. - So what have we got here, then?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Well, we've got a range of very fine portraits.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Particularly at the head of the pile, so to speak,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02we've got this enamel portrait on copper
0:17:02 > 0:17:04of Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07beautifully detailed and taken from a French portrait,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10where a lot of this material was generated in the first place.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13In other words, on the continent of Europe.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16And then this one down here is unmistakably him,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19but it's really not the same level of quality, is it?
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Not the same level of quality at all.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23I suppose it's rather caricature-like, isn't it?
0:17:23 > 0:17:25It's rather cartoon-like.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29But, of course, in 18th-century terms, instantly recognisable.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33There are certain signals in there, certain signs,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36with the Garter star and the white cockade in his bonnet,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39it must be Bonnie Prince Charlie.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41It's always the Garter sash, isn't it, that blue,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45- that ultimate symbol of royal authority?- That's right.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48And I see a kind of lid, the lid of... What is this?
0:17:48 > 0:17:49A snuffbox or something?
0:17:49 > 0:17:53I think we can say certainly that it's been a snuffbox.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55It must have been a hidden portrait,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and perhaps the finesse of the portraiture
0:17:57 > 0:18:00didn't matter so much in this miniature form
0:18:00 > 0:18:02- and the fact that it's hidden.- Right.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06As long as it gave off that clear, unambiguous signal.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09So if I was offering you some snuff from my snuffbox,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and I revealed my lid to see Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:18:12 > 0:18:13then you would go, "A-ha!
0:18:13 > 0:18:16- "Fellow traveller Jacobite." - Fellow traveller. That's right.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17Or possibly, if I was unlucky,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20you would dob me in to the Hanoverian security forces?
0:18:20 > 0:18:23That's right. These were very dangerous times.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27Both in England and Scotland, and even in France,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30association with Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:18:30 > 0:18:32was not necessarily politically safe.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36And what have we got here on this rather curious painted image on...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38What is this? A panel or a board?
0:18:38 > 0:18:40This is a wonderful item
0:18:40 > 0:18:42because of what it tells us
0:18:42 > 0:18:46of the time, of association, loyalty to Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49having to be a secret matter.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50Right. How does it work?
0:18:50 > 0:18:54The image is mysterious - this blob of paint.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56And it springs into focus
0:18:56 > 0:19:00- when you've got the cylinder in the right position.- Right, OK.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04So if I manoeuvre round... Oh, look. There he is. He's popping out at me.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05I mean, he looks quite cheery.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08I can see his Garter sash, so that's the blue here,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and then there's a star, which actually makes perfect sense.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13I mean, it's just a splodge of paint on here,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16but now in the mirror, is quite a nice star.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21So the idea being that if you were having your Jacobite friends round
0:19:21 > 0:19:22and all admiring Charlie's picture,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24and suddenly, there was a knock on the door
0:19:24 > 0:19:27and you weren't quite sure who it was, then, woomph!
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- You take it all away and then you're safe?- That's right.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32The image, if you like, disappears,
0:19:32 > 0:19:37and it's left with this ambiguous blob of paint.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40And miniatures being small and easy to hide, I suppose,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42fitted into the same tradition
0:19:42 > 0:19:45of having secret images of your pin-up Prince about you?
0:19:45 > 0:19:51- Well, imagery was a very, very important part of the 1745.- Right.
0:19:51 > 0:19:52I see.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56The power of portraiture in the 18th century was immense.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Portraits were used as propaganda.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03They provided a focus for political and religious hopes and beliefs.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09And in royal portraiture, image was especially key.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10A face had to look out of that canvas
0:20:10 > 0:20:14showing all the qualities you would hope for in a leader and a monarch.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21This is why I'm so keen
0:20:21 > 0:20:25to find a portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie from 1745.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30When he was the leader of the Jacobite uprising,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34his face and his image inspired unquestioning loyalty.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43After landing in the northwest of Scotland,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Bonnie Prince Charlie swept through the Highlands and marched to Perth.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53There he took lodgings at the Salutation Inn,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55proclaimed his father King,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59demanded £500 from the city to go towards his cause,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03and was joined by many leading members of the Jacobite gentry.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11The Salutation Inn is still here.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13It's said to be the oldest hotel in Scotland
0:21:13 > 0:21:16and it's recorded that the Prince stayed in room 20.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23'I've arranged to meet historian and re-enactor Arran Johnston
0:21:23 > 0:21:26'of the Battle Of Prestonpans Heritage Trust
0:21:26 > 0:21:29'in the very room Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed in
0:21:29 > 0:21:32'because Arran has a modern portrait of the Prince,
0:21:32 > 0:21:33'which he thinks fits the bill
0:21:33 > 0:21:36'as a replacement image of Charles Edward Stuart.'
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Arran, thanks for bringing this picture to show me.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42Can you tell me a bit about it?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Well, this portrait of Charles Edward
0:21:44 > 0:21:47was commissioned by the Battle Of Prestonpans Heritage Trust
0:21:47 > 0:21:48back in 2010 because, suddenly,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51we found there was a hole in the market
0:21:51 > 0:21:54after somebody had proven that the La Tour picture
0:21:54 > 0:21:56was indeed Henry Benedict.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59So we needed to find a replacement for that iconic image,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02which we'd previously been using to present Prince Charlie to the world.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05OK, so I am a little bit responsible for this painting?
0:22:05 > 0:22:06Yes, but at least we can guarantee
0:22:06 > 0:22:08that Henry Benedict didn't sit for this one.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Why is it important, then,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13to have a portrait of the Prince as he would have looked
0:22:13 > 0:22:14during the Jacobite Rebellion?
0:22:14 > 0:22:15What we want to do is
0:22:15 > 0:22:18to show what Charles represented when he was here.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22But the idea we really wanted to get across was who Charles was.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25It wasn't necessarily about the precise likeness,
0:22:25 > 0:22:26it was about getting across
0:22:26 > 0:22:30that sense of confidence and energy and ambition.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I see, he certainly does look like an ambitious man,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35but when you mention the likeness,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39it strikes me that there is still a little bit of Prince Henry in this.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Am I imagining things?
0:22:41 > 0:22:44You're right, there is that feeling of the old La Tour still in there
0:22:44 > 0:22:47because we do want something that was very identifiable
0:22:47 > 0:22:48and, for better, for worse,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50people still see that picture in their minds
0:22:50 > 0:22:52- when they think of Charles Edward.- Really? OK.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55I have to say, Arran, I think this is a boldly painted image
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and it certainly shows a man of some optimism and courage,
0:22:58 > 0:22:59and perhaps even a touch of arrogance.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02But, for me, I don't think it's really going to do
0:23:02 > 0:23:04as a replacement image of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:23:04 > 0:23:06while he was here in Scotland.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I think a good historical portrait needs to have that sense
0:23:08 > 0:23:10that it's done from life,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13that it's capturing the likeness, the character, the personality
0:23:13 > 0:23:16of someone sitting in front of the artist at the moment of creation.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I don't think this quite does it. What is it about Prince Charles
0:23:18 > 0:23:21that we're still commissioning portraits of him
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and you're dressing very convincingly as him
0:23:23 > 0:23:25over 250 years after he was around?
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Why is he so inspirational today?
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I think what it comes down to is Charles' personality.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33What we know from the accounts of the campaign
0:23:33 > 0:23:35is that people could go into a room
0:23:35 > 0:23:37with no intention of supporting Prince Charlie,
0:23:37 > 0:23:38and walk out of it
0:23:38 > 0:23:41committing not only themselves but their men as well.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44If I was some humble Perthshire gent
0:23:44 > 0:23:46come to this room to see if I should join your cause,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49give me a bit of Bonnie Prince Charlie, how would you convince me?
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Well, just as I have with everybody else who's joined the cause so far,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55all I would do is point out that here I am,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57having risked everything to come amongst you
0:23:57 > 0:24:00and give you the opportunity for you yourselves to rise up,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03to overthrow a government that is unlawful,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05that doesn't have a true claim to the throne
0:24:05 > 0:24:08and that has far more interest in its landholdings in Hanover
0:24:08 > 0:24:10than it does in Scotland.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Now you have the opportunity to take your own destiny in your own hands.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Very convincing, I'm sold.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Do you want me to kiss your hand or something?
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- No, we can be informal. - OK, good. Thank you.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25The Prince stayed in Perth for six days.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29But he had little time to sit for a portrait while he was here.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34He held councils of war at the Salutation Inn,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38he attended a Protestant church service at St John's Kirk.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39His army grew in number
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and it's said he didn't sleep while he was in residence here
0:24:42 > 0:24:45because he was too busy holding meetings with his commanders.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50After leaving Perth,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Bonnie Prince Charlie was heading for Edinburgh, the Scottish capital.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And that's where I think his portrait
0:24:58 > 0:25:00might have been painted in 1745.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03It's almost hard to believe,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05but Charles was able to seize Edinburgh
0:25:05 > 0:25:06without any bloodshed at all.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09He'd approached the city expecting some kind of battle or siege,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13but when the gate here, the Nethergate was unexpectedly opened
0:25:13 > 0:25:15to allow the exit of a single carriage,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Cameron of Lochiel swooped in with his troops
0:25:17 > 0:25:19and overpowered the City Guard.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Just a few hours later, therefore,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Bonnie Prince Charlie was able to march in to Edinburgh,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26completely unopposed, at the head of his army.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27And he was greeted, we are told,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30by tens of thousands of cheering citizens.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32He was now effectively the master of all Scotland.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38James was proclaimed King and Charles Prince Regent.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And Edinburgh went mad for Charlie and his image.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51The Prince set up court at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54Balls were held in his honour.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Hand-painted fans were produced
0:25:59 > 0:26:03which were distributed to the ladies attending all the Holyrood parties.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And every fan showed an image of the Prince.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed in Edinburgh for six weeks.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15He held a council every day at Holyrood.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19He would have had time to sit for a portrait.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I wonder, could a lost portrait of the Prince
0:26:24 > 0:26:25still reside in the Palace?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32I love these portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:26:32 > 0:26:34and his brother Henry,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36but they weren't painted during the Jacobite Rebellion
0:26:36 > 0:26:38and they weren't painted in Scotland.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44The portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:26:44 > 0:26:45and his brother Prince Henry
0:26:45 > 0:26:48which hang in the dining room at Holyrood,
0:26:48 > 0:26:49were painted in Italy in 1738
0:26:49 > 0:26:51by an artist named Blanchet.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Today, there are no portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie from 1745
0:26:58 > 0:27:00in the royal collection.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06But what I am interested in is a little-known 18th-century document.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11This is a copy of a letter in the royal archive
0:27:11 > 0:27:15from Bonnie Prince Charlie's valet, John Stuart.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19It's addressed to Mr Allan Ramsay, painter.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22It says, "Sir, you are desired to come to the Palace of Holyrood House
0:27:22 > 0:27:24"as soon as possible
0:27:24 > 0:27:27"in order to take His Royal Highness' picture
0:27:27 > 0:27:31"so I expect you'll wait no further call.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33"I am, sir, your most humble servant, John Stuart.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36"Holyrood House, 26th October 1745."
0:27:36 > 0:27:39This proves that there was, at the very least,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43the intention to paint Bonnie Prince Charlie's portrait here in Scotland.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46The question is, did Ramsay get this letter
0:27:46 > 0:27:48and did he paint the picture?
0:27:50 > 0:27:53But who was Allan Ramsay and why would he, in particular,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56be asked to paint the Prince's portrait?
0:27:59 > 0:28:02In the 18th century, Ramsay was considered to be
0:28:02 > 0:28:04one of the greatest portrait artists in Europe.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Born and brought up in Edinburgh,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14his father's remarkable octagonal abode
0:28:14 > 0:28:16known as the Goose-Pie House
0:28:16 > 0:28:18still stands on the Royal Mile.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Now, we know that Allan Ramsay was certainly in Edinburgh
0:28:23 > 0:28:24at the time Charles sent his letter,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26because we have a record
0:28:26 > 0:28:29of what happened to Ramsay's house during the uprising.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Because it overlooked Edinburgh Castle,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34which is the one place that Charles never managed to control,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36it was decided to use Ramsay's garden
0:28:36 > 0:28:38to take a few pot-shots at the castle.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Now, in the event, the Jacobite guns
0:28:40 > 0:28:42were no match for the Government guns
0:28:42 > 0:28:44and the skirmish didn't last very long,
0:28:44 > 0:28:46but if Ramsay did paint the Prince,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49I don't think he'd have done it here in the middle of a barrage.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56No matter where Ramsay painted,
0:28:56 > 0:28:58if the brush was in his hand,
0:28:58 > 0:29:00you would be guaranteed a brilliant portrait.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Ramsay painted lords and ladies.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Men of government.
0:29:14 > 0:29:15And intellectuals.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23And everyone was painted with great expression and character.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31In fact, Ramsay revolutionised Scottish portraiture.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Before Ramsay, you could say
0:29:33 > 0:29:36that Scottish portraiture was stuck in something of a rut.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Because artists were quite limited,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42much of the essential biographical information you want from a portrait
0:29:42 > 0:29:44didn't come from a good likeness,
0:29:44 > 0:29:45a good characterisation of the face,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48but from the accessories in the picture, the props,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50the rich costume and the fancy background.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53As a result, some pictures like this
0:29:53 > 0:29:55feel a little bit stiff and, frankly, rather dull.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58But when Ramsay comes along, everything changes.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59In evolutionary terms,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03it's the moment Scottish portraiture gets up and walks.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06And in this portrait here of Ramsay's close friend,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09the eminent Enlightenment Scottish thinker David Hume,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12we have what I think is one of his finest works.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14Because Ramsay was so good,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17he could use a wholly convincing likeness
0:30:17 > 0:30:19to tell us more information about someone like Hume
0:30:19 > 0:30:22than you might find in any written biography.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25And it feels to me you can instinctively see, in this portrait,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28we're dealing with someone who has a great intellect.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31It's as if the whole portrait, the way it's strongly lit,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35is powered by the great man's giant brain.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Just imagine then, if someone like Ramsay
0:30:37 > 0:30:39painted Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43not only would we have a really good historical portrait,
0:30:43 > 0:30:47but we could actually learn much more about the Prince himself.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55But Ramsay was known as a loyal Hanoverian artist.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02He became royal portrait painter to George III
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and his wife Queen Charlotte.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Maybe Ramsay didn't paint Bonnie Prince Charlie at all.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16Maybe he ignored the summons to take the Prince's picture
0:31:16 > 0:31:19so as not to ruin his chances with the Hanoverian court.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Yet it seems that Ramsay did paint Jacobites as well as Hanoverians.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37He was an interested commentator on all that was going on in the world.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42So, I'm sure he would have found a way to paint the Prince
0:31:42 > 0:31:43if he was asked.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53But if Ramsay did paint the Prince, does the portrait still exist?
0:31:55 > 0:31:58And if it exists, where could it be?
0:32:00 > 0:32:04It does feel as if I'm looking for a needle in a haystack.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Got a website here called Your Paintings,
0:32:07 > 0:32:11which is an illustrated database of over 200,000 paintings
0:32:11 > 0:32:14in public ownership in the UK, so all the ones that we own.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And because over 80% of the public collection at any one time
0:32:18 > 0:32:20is in storage, there is in fact quite a high chance
0:32:20 > 0:32:23that there is a lost portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:32:23 > 0:32:24somewhere out here
0:32:24 > 0:32:26which hasn't been looked at before.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28So I'm going to have a little search and a rummage
0:32:28 > 0:32:32of Bonnie Prince Charlie portraits, see what comes up.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Bonnie Prince Charlie, Allan Ramsay...
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Let's see. Let's try our luck with that.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Not much. In fact, nothing.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Let's try, um...
0:32:45 > 0:32:46Let's call him by his official title.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Charles Edward Stuart...
0:32:51 > 0:32:53Allan Ramsay.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57More options.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59A few options, in fact.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03That's not, in fact, Bonnie Prince Charlie, that one.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Quite like the look of this one here.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Picture in Derby Museum. "Charles Edward Stuart".
0:33:09 > 0:33:13So, catalogued as him in full, and attributed to Allan Ramsay.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15I can't tell a great deal from this photograph,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18but it looks like a mid-18th century picture.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21And I can see in the same collection here,
0:33:21 > 0:33:22which is rather interesting,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24there's a portrait of Clementina Walkinshaw,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26who was Bonnie Prince Charlie's mistress
0:33:26 > 0:33:27during the Jacobite Rebellion.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31So a quite interesting little cache of Jacobite material
0:33:31 > 0:33:33has ended up in Derby.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I think I'm going to have to go to Derby and have a look.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53In the winter of 1745,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Bonnie Prince Charlie decided to invade England and head for London.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03His army besieged Carlisle, and marched through Manchester,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06where a considerable number of English Jacobites joined them,
0:34:06 > 0:34:08forming the Manchester Regiment.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14And on the 4th of December, the Prince and his army reached Derby.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Government forces had been assembled
0:34:17 > 0:34:20and were closing in on the Jacobites,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23but the Prince was only 127 miles from London.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28And if he did have a portrait painted in Edinburgh,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31it's very likely that it would have travelled with him.
0:34:34 > 0:34:35There are still a few reminders
0:34:35 > 0:34:38of Charles Edward Stuart's time in Derby...
0:34:41 > 0:34:45..a statue of the Prince looking south, towards London,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48while his horse is turning back to the north.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54A plaque in a cathedral
0:34:54 > 0:34:58commemorating the fact that the Prince attended a service there.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05And Hogarth even produced a painting of the panic in London,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07when it was known that Charles and his Jacobite troops
0:35:07 > 0:35:09had reached Derby.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19'In search of our elusive Ramsay portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22'I've arranged to meet Lucy Bamford,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24'Keeper Of Art at Derby Museum And Art Gallery.'
0:35:26 > 0:35:27So, Lucy, the Your Paintings website
0:35:27 > 0:35:30tells me these are Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and Clementina Walkinshaw by Allan Ramsay.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35I'm sensing they might not be. Are they still?
0:35:35 > 0:35:38I think you're sensing right.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41They were thought for many years to be Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:35:41 > 0:35:43and Clementina Walkinshaw,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46but some recent research has shown that, in fact,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48they're probably not by Allan Ramsay.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50And they're certainly not
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Bonnie Prince Charlie and Clementina Walkinshaw.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54No, I have to say, standing in front of them,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57I'm definitely not feeling any Allan Ramsay here,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59and if this isn't Bonnie Prince Charlie, who is it?
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Well, as far as we know now,
0:36:01 > 0:36:06from some research that was conducted by some experts in military uniform,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09we think he's Cornet Edward Walpole
0:36:09 > 0:36:11of the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15Right. So all this matches up to the Inniskilling Dragoons.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Yes, absolutely.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20So the lacing, the colour of his waistcoat,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22and the tabs on his coat.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24I guess we know that Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:36:24 > 0:36:26was never in the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons, though.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28As far as we know, no.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29I think it's rather ironic
0:36:29 > 0:36:32that he turned out to be a redcoat officer
0:36:32 > 0:36:35in light of his previous identity.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37So another famous Bonnie Prince Charlie portrait
0:36:37 > 0:36:39has bitten the dust.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41- Yes.- Yeah.- Oh, well.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45I've drawn a bit of a blank.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47This is not Bonnie Prince Charlie.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Nor is this his mistress, Clementina Walkinshaw.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Elsewhere in Derby museum, they have the very room
0:36:59 > 0:37:01where Bonnie Prince Charlie held a council of war.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06Today, it contains a plastic prince.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12This is the room in which Charles faced his darkest hour.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15For it was here on the 6th of December 1745
0:37:15 > 0:37:17that he learnt, to his astonishment,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20that his generals wanted to abandon the march on London
0:37:20 > 0:37:22and retreat back to Scotland.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25They'd been alarmed by reports - false, it turns out -
0:37:25 > 0:37:30of two huge Government armies which were bearing down on Derby.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Charles was effectively faced by a mutiny,
0:37:33 > 0:37:35and there was nothing he could do about it.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Of course, he didn't want to retreat at all,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and he railed against what he called "this betrayal".
0:37:40 > 0:37:42It's hard not to feel some sympathy with him,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44because I think he was right.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48His strategy of speed and audacity had achieved so much, so fast,
0:37:48 > 0:37:51he'd brought a Scottish army further into England
0:37:51 > 0:37:53than anyone had ever managed before.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55And just 120 miles away,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58a poorly defended London lay waiting.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59It's impossible to know now
0:37:59 > 0:38:02whether Charles would have won, had he pressed on.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06But ahead to London lay the chance of success -
0:38:06 > 0:38:07death or glory.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Retreat to Scotland meant inevitable defeat.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18Bonnie Prince Charlie had been set on reaching London,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20but he had to give in to his generals
0:38:20 > 0:38:22and agree to retreat back to Scotland.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28Fortunately, I don't have a group of generals to consult,
0:38:28 > 0:38:32so unlike Bonnie Prince Charlie, I'm not going to give up or turn back,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34because I have one last place to try -
0:38:34 > 0:38:36and that means going to London.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44While Charles had been in England,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47the support from English Jacobites had been poorer than expected.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53But the French had promised to send troops if Charles took London.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Lord Elcho said that the Prince talked of
0:38:58 > 0:39:00in what manner he should enter the capital -
0:39:00 > 0:39:02on horseback or on foot, and in what dress?
0:39:06 > 0:39:11Charles knew the power of portraits, imagery, and first impressions.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16But he was never given the opportunity to impress London.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24I might not get the chance to impress London either.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Because I'm beginning to wonder
0:39:28 > 0:39:32if this lost portrait can be found, or even still exists.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41If it was painted, it could have been destroyed,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43or it might just have disappeared.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54At the National Portrait Gallery in London,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56there are portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:39:56 > 0:39:58and even Flora MacDonald,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01who helped the Prince in his escape from Government troops.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07And there are also the National Portrait Gallery archives,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09where records of every known portrait
0:40:09 > 0:40:12painted of great figures through the ages are held.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Now that I know I'm looking for
0:40:17 > 0:40:20a Ramsay portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:40:20 > 0:40:22I can search the archives with a view to spotting
0:40:22 > 0:40:25any picture of the Prince that looks like a Ramsay,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28but might not have been attributed to him.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35This is my last hope of finding any trace
0:40:35 > 0:40:37of a Bonnie Prince Charlie portrait by Ramsay,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39if such a painting exists.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45There are hundreds of portrait records
0:40:45 > 0:40:47of Bonnie Prince Charlie in these boxes.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53'But, so far, nothing painted in Ramsay's distinctive style.'
0:40:53 > 0:40:54Next.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58'I'm slightly running out of hope.'
0:41:01 > 0:41:03'Because if I can't find anything here,
0:41:03 > 0:41:05'my search will be over.'
0:41:07 > 0:41:09This is the final box.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16"Prince Charles Edward.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18"Doubtful and wrongly named".
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Called Charles Edward, but not.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Well, that is him.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38That's definitely not him.
0:41:40 > 0:41:41Oh, that's him.
0:41:42 > 0:41:43Not by Ramsay.
0:41:46 > 0:41:47That's Prince Henry.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Don't know who that is.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54'This looks promising.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57'It looks good enough to be by Ramsay.'
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Now, it says on the back of the photograph here,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03"Prince Charles Edward Stuart,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05"after an engraving by Robert Strange,"
0:42:05 > 0:42:09but this is clearly not after an engraving.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12It doesn't feel like it's copying something else,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15it feels like it's a portrait done from life, in fact.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19And it also says
0:42:19 > 0:42:23that it's in the collection of the Earl of Wemyss in Gosford House.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Gosford House is in Scotland.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30So, going to have to go back to Scotland.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37When Bonnie Prince Charlie was heading back to Scotland,
0:42:37 > 0:42:38he knew that his chance
0:42:38 > 0:42:42to regain the throne for his father had been lost,
0:42:42 > 0:42:44and he was filled with despair.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Unlike Charles, I'm going back to Scotland
0:42:47 > 0:42:49with what I think is a good chance of success.
0:42:53 > 0:42:54If the painting is at Gosford,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57we won't be restoring the Stuarts to the throne,
0:42:57 > 0:42:59but it will be a chance to restore an image
0:42:59 > 0:43:02of the real Bonnie Prince Charlie to the world.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16Gosford House isn't that far from Edinburgh or Holyrood Palace,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19where Ramsay was summoned to paint the Prince's portrait.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24It's just east of Edinburgh,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27set amongst beautiful parkland and right next to the coast,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29and it's still the family seat
0:43:29 > 0:43:32of the Earls of Wemyss and March today.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35I've arranged to meet
0:43:35 > 0:43:38the Dowager Countess of Wemyss and March at Gosford
0:43:38 > 0:43:39to try and track down the portrait.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46The Wemyss family did have strong Jacobite connections back in 1745.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50The eldest son of the family, Lord Elcho,
0:43:50 > 0:43:52commanded the Jacobite Lifeguards,
0:43:52 > 0:43:56and fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie at Prestonpans and Culloden.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59And in the picture gallery in the marble hall,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02I think I spy a double Ramsay portrait.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04That has to be a good sign.
0:44:06 > 0:44:07Who is this here?
0:44:07 > 0:44:11This is Francis Charteris, who's the younger brother of Lord Elcho.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13- And this is by...?- Ramsay.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16This is an epic Ramsay, in fact. Beautiful.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19- How many Ramsays have you got here? - Oh, four or five.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21- Four or five.- Yes.- Splendid.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23I was hoping you might have another one.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26- Can I show you a photo? - Oh, yes, I'd be very interested.
0:44:26 > 0:44:27This is...
0:44:29 > 0:44:32- Oh, we've got that.- This is Prince Charles. You've got that one?- Yes.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35- Can we see him?- Yes, of course. It's downstairs.
0:44:35 > 0:44:36Marvellous. Thank you.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Exciting!
0:44:43 > 0:44:46'So could the real Ramsay portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:44:46 > 0:44:51'have been here, just a few miles from Edinburgh, for all this time?'
0:44:51 > 0:44:53We're getting there.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55'I can hardly dare to believe it.'
0:44:58 > 0:45:00Now, he's down here.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06Here he is.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10My God. There he is. Oh, it's lovely.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Can't believe I've finally seen it. And in colour, as well.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15I've stared at it for so long in black and white.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18- I've got a little torch here. Do you mind if I...- Of course.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20- Go ahead and use it. - ..turn that on, then?
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Wow.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26God, it's really good, isn't it?
0:45:29 > 0:45:30Can't believe he's there,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32and he looks as good as I'd hoped he did.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36It's really, really good.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38- You can take him off the wall and bring him...- Do you mind?
0:45:38 > 0:45:40- Is that all right if I take it? - No, come along.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42Find a window to stick him in and have a closer look.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45I can't believe I'm even picking him up now.
0:45:45 > 0:45:46Oh, this is tremendous.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Behold, the Prince. I'm holding him like a religious icon.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54We can make a procession.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57There, that's better.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00Lots of daylight. That's what we like.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Oh, gosh, it's really nice.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08I can't tell you how many bad pictures of Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:46:08 > 0:46:09I've been looking at, Lady Wemyss,
0:46:09 > 0:46:14but this one is one of the best, and it's just amazingly good.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16It just seems to have
0:46:16 > 0:46:19the immediate presence of a human being and, in this case,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23- a really quite important and charismatic human being.- Mmm.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25It's painted in just the technique
0:46:25 > 0:46:28I would expect to see Ramsay paint in the mid-1740s.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32He's got already that trademark very feathery style -
0:46:32 > 0:46:34little, short brushstrokes.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36And for me, that partly explains
0:46:36 > 0:46:38why the face is so well illuminated here.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40I mean, I love the way the light falls across him
0:46:40 > 0:46:44and the way the shadows come on the edge of the hair.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48It's got everything you'd expect to see in a Ramsay, this.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51- This is by one of Scotland's best artists.- I know that, yes.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54And one of Scotland's most iconic figures.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56And who didn't paint the Prince, we're told.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59We're told he didn't paint the Prince, but he did. And this here...
0:46:59 > 0:47:01- Yes, yes.- ..I'm holding it.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03In your window!
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Well, the next question is,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08it's one thing for me, in my eye,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11however good I think it is, to say this is by Ramsay.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13We need to join up all the dots.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Have you got any paperwork that we can go and look at?
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Well, we'll go in the other room and have a look.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20It'd be quite helpful to see if it's been called Ramsay before
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- and how long you've had it for.- OK.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27Now, we're down here.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30'If we can find any early written record
0:47:30 > 0:47:33'of this portrait being attributed to Ramsay,
0:47:33 > 0:47:35'it would certainly strengthen our case.'
0:47:35 > 0:47:37This is what I call an archive.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Catalogue of pictures at Wemyss House, Gosford.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Come on, Charlie. Where are you?
0:47:44 > 0:47:46Painters' names.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49Let's see if we find a Ramsay.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Ortner, Carracci, Rubens.
0:47:56 > 0:47:57Ramsay.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02- Good.- Portrait of Prince Charles Stuart. There it is.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Misspelled. With an E. "Ramsey".
0:48:04 > 0:48:0710 by 8 inches. 10 by 8 inches.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09- That's it.- That's it.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11I mean, it's really heartening
0:48:11 > 0:48:14to see that this picture was called a Ramsay then.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18I mean, that's encouraging, isn't it?
0:48:18 > 0:48:20Straight from the horse's mouth.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22In my day job, Lady Wemyss,
0:48:22 > 0:48:24as an art dealer trying to find lost pictures,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28I've seen cases where you would never get this much
0:48:28 > 0:48:30to back up your conversarial instincts.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32- So I'm pretty pleased.- Good.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36However, I don't think it's for me
0:48:36 > 0:48:38to give the verdict on this painting,
0:48:38 > 0:48:40and I was wondering if you would let me
0:48:40 > 0:48:44take it to the Allan Ramsay expert, Duncan Thomson,
0:48:44 > 0:48:46who I think you know.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50I do know him. I have great faith in him. Yes, of course you may take it.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52Would you allow me to present all the evidence to him
0:48:52 > 0:48:53and show him the picture
0:48:53 > 0:48:56and see if I'm either making a complete fool of myself...
0:48:56 > 0:48:57You're not, I assure you.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00..or if we've found Allan Ramsay's portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie?
0:49:00 > 0:49:02I'd be happy and delighted and honoured
0:49:02 > 0:49:03to have you take it to Edinburgh.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06- I promise I'll look after it. - Thank you.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15I'm very pleased that Lady Wemyss
0:49:15 > 0:49:19has allowed Bonnie Prince Charlie to visit Edinburgh again.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22I hope he'll enjoy being back.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Admittedly, he's not staying in Holyrood Palace this time.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37But I'd like to think he might have enjoyed entering the city
0:49:37 > 0:49:40with a motorbike escort.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42That might have appealed to his sense of style.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Now, I may think we've found a portrait
0:49:54 > 0:49:57of Bonnie Prince Charlie by Allan Ramsay,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00but to have the portrait authenticated,
0:50:00 > 0:50:03I need to show it to THE Ramsay expert,
0:50:03 > 0:50:04Dr Duncan Thomson.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10For me, this is the nerve-racking bit.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13If Duncan doesn't think this is a Ramsay, I'll be sunk.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Now, there's not many things that make me anxious, Duncan,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20but I do very much hope you like this painting.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Well, it's potentially
0:50:22 > 0:50:24such an important painting.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- I'm desperate to see it. - Are you ready?
0:50:28 > 0:50:30Oh, there we go.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36My goodness.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39This is quite amazing.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41This is quite amazing. Gosh.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44This is quite extraordinary.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46This is wonderful.
0:50:46 > 0:50:47This is wonderful.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51Shall I put it on an easel so we can have a closer look?
0:50:51 > 0:50:53- Yes, let's do that.- Splendid.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59For me, that has all the grace and naturalness
0:50:59 > 0:51:02of Allan Ramsay at his best.
0:51:02 > 0:51:03Oh, at his best!
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Well, that's great. Already you like it.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08- Wonderfully elegant. - That was quick.- Gosh.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10I suppose a good portrait does immediately tell you
0:51:10 > 0:51:14- that it's a good portrait, doesn't it?- Immediate impression, yeah.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17It strikes me right away this is Ramsay.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19This is Ramsay without a doubt.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21The contrast between the front part of the wig
0:51:21 > 0:51:24and the dark part at the back, that's pure Ramsay.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28That occurs in a number of portraits of this period, in fact.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32The thing that's so wonderful is the delicacy of the handling.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35The "handwriting", what I call the handwriting,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38this is the real autograph aspect of Ramsay,
0:51:38 > 0:51:42that we can follow him in this wig-painting.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44You can almost count the number of hairs in his brush.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47I can actually produce a sable brush from my pocket,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50it must be very similar to the one Ramsay used
0:51:50 > 0:51:55to make these wonderfully delicate little hairs in the wig.
0:51:55 > 0:52:00But the sheer delicacy of the way that the pink of the cheek
0:52:00 > 0:52:02blends into slightly grey,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05which presumably is in fact a record
0:52:05 > 0:52:07of the growth on the Prince's face.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10But it's very, very beautifully suffused into the pink.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Touches of vermilion
0:52:12 > 0:52:14around the corner of the eye.
0:52:14 > 0:52:20Just little touches of vermilion on the upper eyelid. Wonderful.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Was Ramsay a quick painter?
0:52:22 > 0:52:24As far as we know, he painted pretty quickly.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26I don't think he would draw on the canvas first -
0:52:26 > 0:52:28I think this is direct painting.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32One has this feeling that most of it is done from life.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35Tremendous sense of immediacy.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37The wonderful way that white on the sleeve
0:52:37 > 0:52:40is actually quite casually taken across the edge of the star,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43which you can still in fact see through.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Just a glaze of white
0:52:45 > 0:52:49just to give us the shape of that sleeve.
0:52:49 > 0:52:50Yes.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54It is quite a good sign, because it's a sign of spontaneity.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57It's spontaneous. It's not something being copied.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00It's a reworking of a passage.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03I presume made for engraving.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Could be produced for propaganda.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10My assumption is that that explains the size -
0:53:10 > 0:53:13is that it was intended to be taken into England.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15Because it's done on the eve of the invasion
0:53:15 > 0:53:18and it's quite interesting that he's not wearing tartan
0:53:18 > 0:53:20or the Order Of The Thistle.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22So this is for an English audience.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24It certainly looks like that. Absolutely.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26And I think the size means
0:53:26 > 0:53:29that it was done to take down to London.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32And then immediately they seized power or whatever,
0:53:32 > 0:53:34started distributing images,
0:53:34 > 0:53:37today's images of the new Prince Regent.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41Propaganda is not a word that immediately comes to mind
0:53:41 > 0:53:45when looking at something that is basically so beautiful,
0:53:45 > 0:53:49and so, in a sense, emotional.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51This is the prince as he was in Scotland
0:53:51 > 0:53:53at the beginning of his great escapade,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56or whatever you like to call it.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Painted in Scotland at such a crucial moment
0:53:59 > 0:54:01by one of Scotland's greatest ever artists.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03So important. So important.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Never in my wildest dreams, Duncan,
0:54:05 > 0:54:08did I think you would like it this much. I'm highly delighted.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12I'm enthusing. I can't stop enthusing, I'm afraid.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16We've brought the Prince back to life, which I find wonderful.
0:54:16 > 0:54:17I find that quite wonderful.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20Do you think this will become the iconic portrait
0:54:20 > 0:54:21of Bonnie Prince Charlie?
0:54:21 > 0:54:24I think there is every likelihood of that, don't you?
0:54:24 > 0:54:28The portrait that we used to think was Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31by La Tour - the big pastel.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34In a way a more overwhelming image,
0:54:34 > 0:54:36but sadly, of course, his brother, Prince Henry -
0:54:36 > 0:54:38as you have proved.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43and this is such a wonderful image to take its place.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47- Good.- It certainly makes up for the relegation of the La Tour.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50- My artist oracle sins have been atoned.- Absolutely.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Yes, you're forgiven.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00So we've found the lost portrait.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04And I hope this won't be the last time
0:55:04 > 0:55:07we see the true face of Charles Edward Stuart.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12The world should become acquainted
0:55:12 > 0:55:14with Ramsay's fast, determined portrait
0:55:14 > 0:55:18of this much misunderstood, loved, and hated young man.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23And I'm pleased to say
0:55:23 > 0:55:25that Bonnie Prince Charlie is still quite bonnie.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29We haven't completely shattered the myth,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32and I'm quite relieved about that.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Leaving the portrait in Edinburgh,
0:55:40 > 0:55:45I'm tracing Charles' retreat north, back to the Highlands.
0:55:45 > 0:55:46I want to say a last goodbye.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50After turning back from Derby,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52with the Government army in hot pursuit,
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Charles and his army went to Glasgow.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59They attacked and beat Government troops at Falkirk
0:55:59 > 0:56:01in January 1746,
0:56:01 > 0:56:05killing 350 and taking a further 300 prisoner.
0:56:09 > 0:56:10But Charles became ill,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13and his army did not pursue their advantage.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23Retreating north, back to the Highlands,
0:56:23 > 0:56:27Charles and his Jacobites faced the Duke of Cumberland's forces
0:56:27 > 0:56:30at Culloden, on the 16th of April 1746.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34They were beaten,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36and Charles decided to return to France.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40As he rode off the battlefield at Culloden,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43it's said that Lord Elcho called after him,
0:56:43 > 0:56:46"There you go for a damned cowardly Italian!"
0:56:47 > 0:56:49All was lost.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00So Charles now had no choice but to go back into exile,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03and he spent the next five months trying to leave Scotland
0:57:03 > 0:57:06as he was chased everywhere by Government troops.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09With the help of his Highland supporters,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12he slept in the hills and travelled everywhere in disguise,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15even once dressing up as a woman.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18But despite the presence of a £30,000 bounty on his head,
0:57:18 > 0:57:21some £15 million today,
0:57:21 > 0:57:23nobody turned him in.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25His supporters were loyal to the end.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Charles did eventually reach France,
0:57:32 > 0:57:35and lived the rest of his life in exile.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39More propaganda images were painted,
0:57:39 > 0:57:43but none have the youth and hope of the Ramsay portrait.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Although Charles failed in his attempt to regain the throne,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53I think he was fighting for and won something far greater -
0:57:53 > 0:57:55a kind of historical immortality.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58He's still inspiring people across the world today,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and you can't really say that about George I.
0:58:01 > 0:58:02But perhaps best of all,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06we now have the perfect reminder of Charles' glorious adventure,
0:58:06 > 0:58:10because we've now found the true face of Bonnie Prince Charlie.