About this artwork

Clementina was named after Clementina Sobieska, the Polish wife of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart. She became the mistress of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (the eldest son of Prince James and Clementina Sobieska) in Scotland during the 1745 Rising, and was reunited with him in Ghent in 1752. However, she was mistrusted by many Jacobite supporters, who suspected her of being a spy for the Hanoverian government. Charles’s father also disapproved of her, feeling that his son should marry and produce legitimate heirs. The relationship endured for a few years, but Clementina was eventually unable to tolerate Charles’s temper and beatings. In 1760 she fled to a convent, taking their only daughter, Charlotte, with her.

Updated before 2020

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