'Henry Benedict Cardinal Stuart' (
11 March 1725 –
13 July 1807) was the fourth and final
Jacobite heir publicly to claim the thrones of
England,
Scotland, and
Ireland. Unlike his father,
James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother,
Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne. In January 1766 the Papacy recognised the
Hanoverian dynasty as lawful rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland.
He spent his life in the
Papal States serving as the
Dean of the College of Cardinals of the
Roman Catholic Church. At the time of his death he was (and still is) one of the longest serving
Cardinals in the Church's history.
In his youth Henry's father made him
Duke of York (in the
Jacobite peerage), and it was by this title that he was best known. Upon the death of his brother in 1788 Henry became known by Jacobites, and within his personal entourage, as 'Henry IX', 'King of England', 'Scotland', 'France', and 'Ireland', although publicly he referred to himself as Cardinal-Duke of York ''nuncupatus''.
Notwithstanding his claim to the throne, Henry was in general a peaceable man, attentive to his duties, well respected and a generous host in Rome to many English and Scottish visitors, both
Roman Catholic and
Protestant .
Life
'Henry Benedict Maria Clement Thomas Francis Xavier Stuart' was born in exile at
Rome on
6 March 1725 and baptized on the same day by
Pope Benedict XIII, 37 years after his grandfather
James II of England lost the throne, and ten years after his father's
failed attempt to regain it. His father was
James Francis Edward Stuart, known to his opponents as "the Old Pretender". His mother was the Princess
Maria Klementyna Sobieska, granddaughter of the
Polish King,
John III Sobieski.
Henry went to
France in
1745 to help his brother, Prince
Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie", or "the Young Pretender") prepare the
Jacobite campaign of that year. After its defeat, Henry Stuart returned to Italy. On
30 June 1747 Pope Benedict XIV conferred him with
tonsure and created him
Cardinal-Deacon of ''
S. Maria in Portico'' in special
consistory held on the
3 July 1747. On
27 August 1747 he was promoted to the four minor orders by the Pope. He received the subdiaconate on
18 August 1748 and diaconate on
25 August 1748. He was ordained priest on
1 September 1748 and consecrated titular
Archbishop of Corinth on
2 October 1758.
He was advanced to the order of
Cardinal Priest in 1748, maintaining title to ''S. Maria in Portico''. In 1752 he transferred to the ''
titulus'' of ''
Ss. XII Apostoli''. He was made
Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati on
13 July 1761, and eventually succeeded to the See of
Ostia and Velletri on his appointment as Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals on
26 September 1803.
He lived and worked in Frascati for many years, descending each afternoon in his carriage to Rome, where his position as vice-chancellor entitled him to the ''
Palazzo della Cancelleria''.
Henry was the last claimant to the English throne to
touch for the
King's Evil.
French Revolution
At the time of the
French Revolution, he lost his French Royal benefices and sacrificed many other resources to assist
Pope Pius VI. This, in addition to the seizure of his Frascati property by the French caused him to descend into poverty. The British Minister in
Venice arranged for Henry to receive an
annuity of £4,000 from King
George III of Great Britain. Although the English government represented this as an act of charity, Henry and the
Jacobites considered it to be a first installment on the money which was legally owed to him. (For many years the British government had promised to return the English
dowry of his grandmother,
Mary of Modena, but had never actually done so.)
Henry returned to
Frascati in 1803. In September of that year he became the
Dean of the College of Cardinals and hence
Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, though he still lived in the episcopal palace at
Frascati. He died there on
13 July 1807, aged 82.
Post Mortem
Under his will, which he signed as "Henry R", he was succeeded in all his claimed British rights by his friend and nearest blood-relative,
Charles Emmanuel IV of Savoy, then the former
King of Sardinia and also a Roman Catholic. But Charles never publicly claimed nor renounced his Jacobite rights, nor have any of his successors to this day.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not leave the Crown Jewels to the
Prince of Wales, afterwards
George IV of the United Kingdom. All his property was entrusted to Monsignor
Angelo Cesarini for distribution. Cesarini sent the
Prince Regent several jewels from Henry's private collection. These included a "
Lesser George" (thought to have been worn by
Charles I at his execution, and now at
Windsor Castle) and a
St Andrew's Cross (now at
Edinburgh Castle in
Edinburgh), which are insignia of the orders of the
Garter and the
Thistle, and also a
ruby ring.
A new
sarcophagus was needed when the bodies were moved in
1938. It is widely held that the cost of that new sarcophagus was paid by
King George VI .
Henry Benedict, his brother, his father and his mother are buried in the crypt of
St. Peter's Basilica in the
Vatican. There is a
monument to the Royal Stuarts designed by
Antonio Canova in the basilica to their memory on one of the columns in the basilica proper. This was restored within living memory at the expense of
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Cardinalatial titles
During his life, Cardinal Stuart was assigned the following ''
Diaconia'' and ''
Tituli'':
★ July 13, 1747
Cardinal Deacon of
Santa Maria in Portico
★ September 16, 1748
Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria in Portico
★ December 18, 1752 Cardinal Priest of
Santi XII Apostoli
★ February 12, 1759 Cardinal Priest of
Santa Maria in Trastevere
★ January 14, 1763 Cardinal Priest of
San Lorenzo in Damaso
★ July 13, 1761
Cardinal Bishop of
Frascati
★ September 26, 1803 Cardinal Bishop of Ostia
Ancestors
See also
★
Touch Pieces
External links
★
Henry Benedict Maria Clement Stuart Catholic Encyclopedia article
★
Catholic Hierarchy
Sources
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
