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When Madame de Pompadour met Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tragedy in Three Acts

Join Michael Nevin for this presentation at Institut français d'Ecosse as he discusses the end of the Auld Alliance, set up in 1295 for the mutual defence against their shared adversary, England.

When Madame de Pompadour met Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tragedy in Three Acts

About When Madame de Pompadour met Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tragedy in Three Acts

12th November 2025
5.30pm
Institut francais d Ecosse
Institut français d'Ecosse West Parliament Square, Edinburgh Old Town EH1 1RF
Free event, booking in advance is advised
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We recently marked the anniversary of the founding of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France, established on 23 October 1295 for their mutual defence against their shared adversary, England. But when did this alliance truly come to an end? In this presentation Michael Nevin will submit that, as an effective military alliance, it ended exactly 451 years later on 23 October 1746 – the date of a fateful meeting between Prince Charles Edward Stuart and the Marquise de Pompadour at her apartment in Fontainebleau.

This presentation will be in English and French, and will be in English when looking at events from the Jacobite perspective, and French when discussing the French position.

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