Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was born on 31 December 1720.
The newborn baby was described as “large and well-made” and his birth caused great rejoicing.
In accordance with the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, Charles
was baptised the same day by the Bishop of Montefiascone, in the queen’s
chapel in the royal palace, the Palazzo del Re.
Pope Clement XI, the queen’s godfather, ordered the cannons of Castel
Sant’Angelo to be fired, and Jacobites claimed that a new star had
appeared in the sky.
In this short video, Professor Viccy Coltman looks at how the birth
of Prince Charles Edward Stuart was commemorated in the medallic record
as the great hope for the continuation of the Jacobite cause – the
longed-for Stuart restoration.