Skye - Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald

The defeat of the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart on the bleak battlefield of Culloden Moor on April 16th 1746 ended any hopes of restoring the Royal House of Stuart to the throne of Great Britain.

After fleeing the battlefield, the prince spent five months, travelling mainly on foot, living rough in the wilds of Highland Scotland, evading the thousands of government troops taking part in the biggest manhunt the area has ever seen. Despite the £30,000 price on his head, no one betrayed him and he eventually fled back to France and obscurity. The legacy of his flight is a wealth of romantic songs and stories.

Skye Black House © Hugh Taylor

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Charlie had crossed to South Uist by boat in the dead of night and was taken to meet Flora Macdonald at her home at Milton. She agreed to assist him and with her he made his famous escape to Skye dressed as Betty Burke, her Irish maid.

They landed at Vatternish Point where the Prince and Flora parted company never to meet again. He and a companion then walked south to Portree, crossed to Raasay, where he spent the night in a crude hut because government troops had razed everything else. Finding no help he returned to Portree and walked south to Elgol to take a boat to Mallaig.

Flora MacDonald was arrested and imprisoned for her part in the Prince’s escape.

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Flora MacDonald's Grave - Skye

© Hugh Taylor

After her release she married and emigrated to North Carolina where her husband and son ended up fighting for the British Government during the American Revolution. 

She was thrown out of her home when she refused to take an oath of allegiance to the North Carolina Congress and she and her husband returned to Scotland. She died on Skye in 1790.

Over the Sea to Skye