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James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales (James Francis Edward Stuart; "The Old Pretender" or "The Old Chevalier"; 10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766) was the son of the deposed James II of England (James VII of Scotland). As such, he claimed the English, Scottish and Irish thrones (as James III of England and Ireland and James VIII of Scotland) from the death of his father in 1701, when he was recognized as king of England, Scotland and Ireland by his cousin Louis XIV of France. Following his death in 1766 he was succeeded by his son Charles Edward Stuart in the Jacobite Succession. Had his father not been deposed, there would have been only two monarchs during his lifetime; his father and himself. In reality there were six; the last three Stuarts and the first three Hanoverians. Although the ruling Protestant Stuarts died out with his half-sister, Queen Anne, the very last remaining Stuarts were James and his sons, and their endeavours to regain their rightful throne whilst remaining devoted to their Catholic faith is remembered in history as Jacobitism.

On his father´s death in 1701, James declared himself King, as King James III of England and VIII of Scotland and was recognised as such by France, Spain, the Papal States and Modena. These states refused to recognise William III, Mary II or Queen Anne as legitimate sovereigns. As a result of his claiming his father´s lost thrones, James was attainted for treason in London on 2 March 1702, and his titles were forfeited under English law.

Jacobite rising

Having been delayed in France by an attack of measles, James attempted an invasion, trying to land at the Firth of Forth on 23 March 1708. His French ships were driven back by the fleet of Admiral Sir George Byng.

Had he renounced his Roman Catholic faith, James might have strengthened the existing support of Tory, pro-Restoration, forces in England, but he refused to do so. As a result, in 1714, a German-speaking Protestant became King of the recently created Kingdom of Great Britain — George I.

In 1713, the War of the Spanish Succession ended indecisively. Although the French forces and allies (of which Spain was one) were in complete control of Spain itself, they failed to retake the Spanish Crown´s other European territories. Louis XIV of France accepted peace with Great Britain and her allies. He signed the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, that, amongst other conditions, required him to expel James from France.

The Fifteen
In the following year, the Jacobites started "The ´Fifteen" Jacobite rising in Scotland, aimed at putting "James III and VIII" on the throne. In 1715, James finally set foot on Scottish soil, following the indecisive Battle of Sheriffmuir, but was disappointed by the strength of support he found. Instead of going through with plans for a coronation at Scone, he returned to France, sailing from Montrose. He was not welcomed back, because his patron, Louis XIV, was dead and the government found him a political embarrassment.

Pope Clement XI offered James the Palazzo Muti in Rome as his residence, and he accepted. Innocent XIII, like his predecessor, showed much support. Thanks to the mediation of a close friend of his, Cardinal Filippo Antonio Gualterio, James was granted a life annuity of eight thousand Roman scudi. Such help enabled him to organise a Roman Jacobite court, where the Pope´s cousin, Francesco Maria Conti of Siena, was the Gentiluomo di camera (Chamberlain).

On 3 September 1719, James Francis Edward Stuart married in the Chapel of episcopal palace of Montefiascone (Viterbo - Italy), Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702–35), granddaughter of the Polish king, John III Sobieski (sister of Maria Karolina Sobieska). They had two sons:

1.Charles Edward Stuart (31 December 1720 – 31 January 1788), nicknamed "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
2.Henry Benedict Stuart (11 March 1725 – 13 July 1807), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church

Following James´s failure, attention turned to his son Charles, "the Young Pretender", whose rebellion of 1745 came closer to success than his father´s. With the failure of this second rebellion, however, the Stuart hopes of regaining the British throne were effectively destroyed. James and Charles later clashed repeatedly, and relations between them broke down completely when James played a role in the election of his son Henry as a Cardinal (the celibacy required meaning that Henry would not have any children and could not carry on the line of succession) infuriating Charles who had not been consulted.

In 1759 the French government briefly considered a scheme to have James crowned King of Ireland, as part of their plans to Invade the British Isles but the offer was never formally made to James. Several separate plans also involved Charles being given control of a French-backed independent Ireland.

In 1792 the Papacy specifically referred to George III as the King of Great Britain and Ireland, leading to a Protest from James´s second son, Henry, who was then the Jacobite claimant.
James´s 64 years, 3 months and 16 days as the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland lasted longer than the reigns of any legitimate monarch of those kingdoms or their successor states. To date, the longest serving British monarch is our current Queen, Elizabeth II who surpassed the record set by the Queen Victoria this year.. In order to surpass the record set by the titular James III, the current monarch Queen Elizabeth II would need to remain on the throne until at least May 23, 2016.

James died in Rome on 1 January 1766, and was buried in the crypt of St. Peter´s Basilica at the Vatican. His burial is marked by the Monument to the Royal Stuarts. Refusing to recognise James´s eldest son Charles, from 14 January the Papacy instead accepted the Hanoverian dynasty as the legitimate rulers of Britain and Ireland. This led on to the slow reform of the anti-Catholic "Penal laws" in Britain and Ireland.

Reference: Taylor