The Jacobites At Urbino

Following the Glorious Revolution the court of the exiled Stuarts was for many years based in France. Then, after the failure of the Jacobite rising known as 'The Fifteen', it was forced to move beyond the Alps to the Papal States, eventually to be established in Rome. This book provides the first ever study of the court during the critical period of transition, when the exiled Stuart King James III, now joined by a significant group of Scottish aristocrats, lived in the Palazzo Ducale at Urbino. Drawing on previously unused Italian archives, the book identifies all the Jacobite courtiers, describes their daily lives, analyses the rivalries between them, and shows how they used the Palazzo Ducale. Particular attention is given to the exiled court as a centre of artistic and musical patronage. James III's relations with the Papacy, his planned marriage to Maria Clementina Sobieska, and his attempts to achieve a restoration are all examined, and it is shown that decisions taken at Urbino were to have enduring consequences for the entire Jacobite movement. The book concludes by explaining how and why the court moved permanently to Rome.