One Old Jacobite and formal terraced gardens

One of my heroes is George Keith, the last Earl Marischal of Scotland. Born into one of the great offices of state, with extensive lands round Dunnottar Castle, he had a good life in store. But in 1715, aged 23, he risked it all by declaring for the Jacobites. He commanded the right wing cavalry at Sherrifmuir - an extraordinary battle in which the right wings of both armies routed the other side; the Jacobites had the superior numbers but, under the bumbling leadership of the Earl of Mar, failed to hold the ground and the government forces took the day. Along with other dispirited Jacobite leaders, Keith retired that night to nearby Drummond Castle, home of the Duke of Perth.

I was there two weeks ago. Looking out on the fine formal terraced gardens it was hard to imagine the despair of brave men contemplating defeat, attainder, life-long exile, the loss of everything that they couldn't carry with them.

George Keith went on to have a long and varied life. He returned to Scotland from Spain as leader of the 1719 Jacobite rising and later was a roving ambassador for his exiled king. His travels took him to the court of Empress Catherine II of Russia and when that court was purged of foreigners he went to Prussia, eventually becoming Frederick the Great's ambassador to Paris. Here, in 1745, he tried hard (with the benefit of bitter experience) to dissuade Prince Charles Edward from making an attempt at the throne without foreign help.

He retired to a life of intellectual debate and the tending of plants at Frederick's Potsdam Palace, Sans Souci (above). In his eighties he was still writing energetically to friends in Scotland. Ultimately, it seems, he was far more at home amongst the sophistication (and yes, the formal terraced gardens) of Sans Souci than he was in the wave-lashed fortress of Dunnottar Castle which would otherwise have been his inheritance.

The Clans in Paris

No, you're right. Edinburgh is indeed the setting for the The Gathering of the Clans in 2009, but last week I was exploring those places in Paris and its environs where Scottish history was played out, guiding six American ladies, previous clients of ours in Scotland.

I have written that the 'Auld Alliance' was a rather one way affair, with the Scots giving the French help that was rarely reciprocated. But for for selected Scots, French kings were exceptionally hospitable. In 1418, suspicious of his countrymen, the future King Charles VII of France formed a personal bodyguard, 'La Garde Écossaise', from the 6000 Scots fighting for him at the time. The guard gave invaluable service, was well rewarded and was finally disbanded in 1830.

Pausing only briefly at 'Le Loch Ness' (!), we walked across the Seine to the Rue St Antoine, scene of a low point in the history of La Garde Écossaise: in 1559 its Captain, Gabriel de Montgomery, riding in a tournament there, accidentally delivered a fatal blow in the eye to King Henri II (incidentally brother-in-law to Mary Queen of Scots). The unfortunate Scot was later executed.

Beyond lies the wonderful Place des Vosges, the heart of fashionable Paris in the 17th century. We visited No. 6, not because it is the MuséeVictor Hugo but because this was the home of Marie-Louise de Rohan, Prince Charles Edward's mistress in the two years following the 1745 Rising. Nothing of that period survives except the official address: Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée. To the right is the front door, one that Prince Charles Edward rarely took, since Louise was his first cousin and her husband one of his best friends. His visits, well documented by the Paris police, were via the nearby alleyway.

Next day we visited Versailles: breathtakingly extravagant and so strikingly different to courtly life in Scotland at the time (even taking on board Charles McKean's excellent book on The Scottish Chateau). It was also odd to be there with coach loads of Italians and scores of french school children when Prince Charles Edward who so longed for and so needed Louis XV's help with his forthcoming attempt to win the throne, was never allowed inside the place!

Time did not however allow us to go to St Germain-en-Laye, birthplace of Louis XIV, home to the exiled Jacobite Court from 1689 and base for thousands of impoverished, rootless, exiled Jacobites for the next two generations. Our King James VII is entombed in the church there. Next time.

Finally, herewith a shot of the Tuileries Gardens where old George Keith the last Earl Marischal of Scotland met secretly with Prince Charles Edward in 1752. George was by then Prussian ambassador to Paris . Scotland was by then part of the United Kingdom. This was probably, then, the last play in 400 years of Scottish political intrigue and involvement on French soil.


I am returning to Paris in the autumn to revisit these places and more. I would be delighted if you could join me.