Organization
The
Royal Stuart Society
, founded in 1926, is the largest extant
Jacobite
organization in the
United Kingdom
. Its full name is
The Royal Stuart Society and Royalist League
, although it is best known simply as the "Royal Stuart Society". It acknowledges
Francis, Duke of Bavaria
as head of the
House of Stuart
, while refraining from making any claim on his behalf that he does not make himself.
The society organises annual events to commemorate the major anniversaries of
Jacobitism
and other events of
Royalist
interest.
History
[
edit
]
After the
First World War
, the
Jacobite movement
was in disarray. The Royal Stuart Society was established by Captain Henry Stuart Wheatly-Crowe, who served as its first Governor-General, and representatives of the Royalist Association and other defunct or moribund bodies that supported the
Jacobite succession
to the
British throne
.
The Royal Stuart Society considers itself a successor to, and effectively the continuation of, bodies of the
Neo-Jacobite Revival
, such as the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland (founded in 1891 by
Herbert Vivian
,
Ruaraidh Erskine
and
Melville Henry Massue
), the
Order of the White Rose
and the Thames Valley Legitimist Club. Among its other founders were
Lionel Erskine-Young, 29th Earl of Mar
(1891?1965) and
Reginald Lindesay-Bethune, 12th Earl of Lindsay
(1867?1939).
[1]
Objectives
[
edit
]
The objectives of the Royal Stuart Society are as follows: (1) to be open to all who have an interest in the members of the Royal
House of Stuart
, their descendants and supporters; (2) to promote research in and further knowledge of Stuart history; (3) to uphold rightful
Monarchy
and oppose
republicanism
; and (4) to arrange such commemorations, lectures and other activities as shall advance these objects. It describes itself on its website as being “
monarchist
and traditionalist”.
[2]
Leadership
[
edit
]
As of 2023
[update]
, the Governor-General is
Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St. Albans
, a descendant of Stuart monarch
King Charles II
and his mistress,
Nell Gwyn
, through their illegitimate son,
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St. Albans
. His son,
Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford
, is also a Vice-President of the Society.
[3]
Other Vice-Presidents of the Royal Stuart Society include:
- Princess Lew Sapieha
, a Polish-Lithuanian noble
- Prince Filippo Rospigliosi, 12th Earl of Newburgh
, a Scottish peer
- Patrick Cormack
, Baron Cormack
DL
,
FSA
,
FRHistS
, a British politician, historian, journalist and author
- Count
Nikolai Tolstoy
FRSL
, a British
monarchist
and historian, and current nominal head of the
House of Tolstoy
- Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale
, a Scottish peer
- Peter de Vere Beauclerk-Dewar, the author of
The House of Nell Gwyn ? the fortunes of the Beauclerk Family 1670-1974
(1975)
- Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland
, a British nobleman and politician
- Edward Corp, former Professor of British History at the
University of Toulouse
in
Toulouse
, France
- Lady
Antonia Fraser
CH
,
DBE
,
FRSL
, a British author of history, novels,
biographies
and
detective fiction
Activities
[
edit
]
The Society organises a variety of events throughout the year. An important part of these events are the commemorations in
Whitehall
,
Windsor
and
Westminster Abbey
. Details of all these events, many of which are open to the public who are always made welcome, appear on the Society's website.
A service to commemorate the execution of
King Charles I
is held at his statue in Trafalgar Square on 30 January each year, and a wreath is later laid on behalf of the Society on the King's tomb at St George's Chapel, Windsor, at the beginning of Choral Evensong. The execution of
Mary, Queen of Scots
is remembered with a Service at her tomb in Westminster Abbey on 8 February. The nativity of
King James VII and II of Scotland and England
is marked by prayers and the laying of flowers at his statue outside the National Gallery on 14 October.
The Society also holds an annual dinner, which commemorates Restoration Day and White Rose Day, with the white rose being a symbol of
Jacobitism
. An informal party for members is usually held in November. The Society's lectures take place at the parish hall of the
Jesuit church at Farm Street
in London's
Mayfair
.
Newsletters with details of people, events, and news of the Society are produced and edited by the Principal Secretary, and sent to members during the year. The Society publishes the Royal Stuart Journal annually, and this is available to non-members via the website. The Journal replaced a series of publications called
Royal Stuart Papers
(still available from the Society), which included papers by a number of well known historians, such as
Roy Porter
,
Richard Sharpe
,
Murray Pittock
,
Eveline Cruickshanks
,
Lady Antonia Fraser
, and
Ronald Hutton
.
[2]
References
[
edit
]