Tea at Trianon: Bonnie Prince Charlie - a New Facial Reconstruction

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Bonnie Prince Charlie - a New Facial Reconstruction

From Once I Was a Clever Boy:

Dr William King was Principal of St Mary’s Hall in Oxford, which was owned and eventually absorbed by Oriel College. Wikipedia has a biography of him at William King (St Mary Hall) In addition to agreeing to let me quote from his e-mail Roderick also sent me the following additional information, for which I am most grateful:
I found … descriptions of how Charles looked as he entered Holyroodhouse in September 1745.

Two of these were written by Whigs and they are worth quoting as you would expect them to be the least flattering. The first is from Dr Alexander Carlyle who wrote:

''I had the good fortune to see him, as I was close by him when he walked through the guard. He was a good-looking man of about five feet ten inches. his hair was dark red, and his eyes black. His features were regular, his visage long, much sunburnt, and freckled, and his countenance thoughtful and melancholy''.

The other was by Henderson who's description is as follows:

''He is a slender young man, about five feet ten inches high, of a ruddy complection, high nosed, large rolling brown eyes, long visage; his chin was pointed and mouth small, in proportion to his features: his hair red, but at that time he wore a pale Peruke: he was in Highland dress, with a blue sash wrought with gold coming over the shoulder, red velvet breaches, a green velvet bonnet with gold Lace round it, and a white cockade which was the cross of St Andrew. He likewise had a silver-hilted broadsword, was booted, and had a Pair of Pistols before him''.

No mention of blotches, open pores or unkempt hair.
(Read more.)

Also from Once I Was a Clever Boy:

Today is the 278th anniversary of the raising of the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan in 1745 and by a fortunate coincidence that coincides with publicity for a facial reconstruction of the central figure on that day, Prince Charles Edward. Several news sites have reported about a project done by a masters student from Dundee University to reconstruct the appearance of the face of Prince Charles Edward as it was in 1745-6. The existing death masks from 1788 were scanned and then adjusted to allow both for the stroke which ended his life and for the intervening forty and more years of aging. Other features such as skin tone and hair were based on descriptions and paintings.

The BBC News website reports on the work at Death masks recreate face of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The Daily Telegraph has an article about the result at Not so Bonnie Prince Charlie? 3D mapping reveals true face of 'handsome' Jacobite leader.

The Scottish Daily Express also covers the story at Prince Charlie was not as Bonnie as we thought as Jacobite's face recreated.

A previous facial reconstruction made in 2019 of the King-in-exile based on the death masks and other contemporary sources can be seen at New facial depiction created of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The effect created by the resulting portrait bust is rather of someone with a hangover or perhaps what the Prince might have looked like whilst on the run after Culloden, although for part of that time he let his beard grow. (Read more.)