Life Charles Edward Stuart, Count Roehenstart

roehenstart s grandmother, clementina walkinshaw, c. 1760

roehenstart baptised roman catholic faith on 13 may 1784 @ parish church of saint-merry in rue de saint martin, paris, when described son of maximilian roehenstart , of clementine ruthven. named charles edward after royal grandfather. letters of roehenstart s mother own mother, clementina walkinshaw, provide evidence 1 of children, 2 daughters , 1 son, fathered ferdinand de rohan. daughters marie victoire adélaïde ( aglae ), baptised @ château de couzières on 19 june 1779, , charlotte maximilienne amélie, born during summer of 1780. pregnancy roehenstart delayed charlotte s plans join father in florence, having been kept in ignorance of 3 children.

on 23 march 1783, ailing prince charles edward had legitimised charlotte, created duchess of albany in jacobite peerage, , made heiress of private property, not claim throne. travelled join him after birth of roehenstart, leaving children behind in care of own mother, herself taking on responsibility nursing father until death on 31 january 1788. less 2 years later, on 17 november 1789, charlotte herself died of cancer in bologna. in will, charlotte did not mention children left money mother clementina allow power of disposing @ death of fifty thousand francs in favour of of necessitous relations . cardinal henry stuart, uncle , executor being new jacobite pretender, delayed releasing money 2 years.

roehenstart s mother, charlotte stuart, hugh douglas hamilton

roehenstart s grandmother clementina walkinshaw lived until 1802, in later years taking residence in switzerland, , roehenstart raised in reformed faith. during years of french revolution, father paid education in germany. substantial fortune came roehenstart grandmother, of on recommendation of thomas coutts invested in london turnbull, forbes & co., firm went bankrupt in 1803. of remainder of fortune, 1 hundred thousand roubles, invested russian banker named sofniev.

in later life, roehenstart stated in 1800 had been commissioned artillery officer of imperial russian army , had been promoted 1803. on 8 august 1804, in paris, signed name witness @ marriage of sister charlotte de roehenstart jean-louis de la morliere. 1806, no longer in army, having resigned commission lieutenant colonel, , had taken service in household of duke alexander of wurttemberg, tsar alexander s governor of white ruthenia. in saint petersburg, roehenstart presented tsarina, impressed him. in 1811, offered hand of heiress, marianna hurko, made mistake of falling in love sister, evelina, promised elsewhere. unhappily, @ same time roehenstart s banker sofniev failed, , roehenstart advised recover 5 thousand roubles disaster. distress , anger of wurttembergs, fled russia, sailing kronstadt , arriving in london november 1811. there, set sail north america, in pursuit of john forbes, partner in turnbull, forbes & co. after firm s failure had absconded united states money roehenstart believed rightfully his. lived in philadelphia 1811 1813. remained in america until 1814.

roehenstart s grandfather, charles edward stuart

in 1816, after conclusion of napoleonic wars, roehenstart went scotland , again england, unsuccessfully renewing stuarts pursuit of old claim on dowry of queen mary beatrice of modena, great-great-grandmother.

in 1820, roehenstart married maria antonietta sofia barberini, daughter of exile said italian nobleman. died next year , on 20 july 1821 buried under name of countess roehenstart @ marylebone, london, age @ death being stated thirty. on 13 december 1826, @ st pancras, london, married secondly louisa constance bouchier smith, englishwoman possessing modest fortune, daughter of joseph bouchier smith, sometime lord of manor of kidlington in oxfordshire, had died. louisa constance lived until 20 october 1853, dying @ paris, there no children of either marriage.

following second marriage, roehenstart returned continental europe , spent of next twenty-five years travelling, without wife, settled permanently in native paris. in later life, roehenstart spoke openly of royal descent, became boastful of origins , adventures few believed him. in 1853, lost wife, , in 1854 revisited scotland. while there fatally injured in road accident, when travelling in carriage overturned. buried in graveyard of dunkeld cathedral. friends provided modest headstone, inscription sacred memory of general charles edward stuart count roehenstart died @ dunkeld on 28th october 1854 sic transit gloria mundi .

in twentieth century roehenstart s papers came hands of american scholar george sherburn, produced comprehensive account of him them.