Flora MacDonald And Bonnie Prince Charlie
How Prince Charles Edward Stuart Came Over the Sea to Skye
Oct 9, 2009
In the months of pursuit of Bonnie Prince Charlie known as the "summer's hunting", the Prince and his companions were obliged to keep moving from one hiding place to another throughout Scotland's Highlands and Islands.
On Benbecula in the the Outer Hebrides in June 1746 when British Government Redcoats, sailors and militiamen were closing in on him, a plot was hatched to take him over the sea to Skye.
How Flora MacDonald Played Her Part in Rescuing Bonnie Prince Charlie
Believing that two women travelling together would arouse less suspciion, Flora MacDonald was asked to travel with Prince Charles disguised as an Irish maidservant to whom the name Betty Burke was given. Although initially horrified by the risk everyone would be running, the young Miss MacDonald, in her early twenties at the time - allowed herself to be persuaded to help.
When the Prince wanted to conceal a pistol beneath his dress and petticoats, Flora protested, saying that anyone who searched him and found a gun would immediately become suspicious. The Prince laughed and replied that if anyone searched him that closely the escape attempt would in any case be over.
Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie Go Over the Sea to Skye
The crossing from the Outer to the Inner Hebrides was undertaken in an open boat across the notorious Minch on the proverbial dark and stormy night. A Saturday night was specificaly chosen for the 30 mile journey so as to arrive in Skye on a Sunday, when it was hoped most people would be at church and at home, keeping the Sabbath.
The Skye Boat Song
Penned almost 150 years after the event, the beautiful and atmospheric Skye Boat Song commemorates the journey.
Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing
Onward, the sailors cry
Carry the lad who's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye.
Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep
Ocean's a royal bed
Rocked by the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.
In reality it was the other way around, with Flora falling asleep and waking to find the Prince with his hands spread protectively above her in case one of the boatmen should step on her while tending to the sails.
Bonnie Prince Charlie as Betty Burke
Another song, Twa Bonnie Maidens, referring to Flora MacDonald as a young woman and Bonnie Prince Charlie dressed as one, also tells the tale.
Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie Land on Skye
The fugitives made it safely through the wind and waves to Skye, landing at Monkstadt close to Uig on the west coast of Skye's Trotternish Peninsula. They evaded capture there under the very noses of Government militia.
Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie Meet Again in Portree
The plan was that the Prince should proceed to Portree, the capital of the Isle of Skye, and then make the short crossing to the nearby island of Raasay, which lies between Skye and the Scottish mainland. Raasay had been ravaged by Government Redcoats only two weeks earlier, so it was believed the small island would be unlikely to be visited by them again for some time to come.
Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie travelled separately to Portree. They met up there again with other friends and supporters in what was then MacNab's Inn. The site of this hostelry in Portree is now occupied by the Royal Hotel.
Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie Say Their Farewells at MacNab's Inn
After a meal with the friends and supporters, Flora and the Prince took their leave of one another in MacNab's Inn. The Prince returned a half-crown he had earlier borrowed, and told her: "For all that has happened I hope, Madam, that we shall meet in St James's yet." They were, however, never to meet again.
Their moment of parting is immortalised in an over-romanticised but beautiful painting which now frequently adorns tins and packets of shortbread.
Abhoring the sentimentality which surrounds the story of Flora MacDonald and other aspects of Scottish history, some modern Scots scathingly refer to "shortbread-tin Scotland." However the journey Flora and Bonnie Prince Charlie undertook together was a real historical event and, at the time, a matter of life and death.
Flora MacDonald's Subsequent Life
Although arrested for her part in Bonnie Prince Charlie's escape and imprisoned for a time in the Tower of London, she was well-treated and became something of a celebrity. Returning to Skye, she married Allan MacDonald of Kingsburgh, and later emigrated with him and their children to North Carolina.
They eventually returned to Skye, where she is buried in Kilmuir Graveyard, overlooking the sea and the scene of the exploit which made her famous.
Further reading:
Flora MacDonald: Most Loyal Rebel by Hugh Douglas, London, 1994.
The Lyon in Mourning, Bishop Robert Forbes, Edinburgh, 1895.
Hear The Skye Boat Song sung by Scotland's much-loved folk duo, The Corries.
Read about The Battle of Culloden and the Scottish Royal Stuarts, of whom Bonnie Prince Charlie was one.
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