'Bonnie' Prince Charlie? How handsome rebel prince may have looked revealed using 3D mapping technology

18 August 2023, 15:37

Bonnie Prince Charlie was a rebel prince renowned for his good looks - but a groundbreaking reconstruction of his face may suggest otherwise.

The replica, created by researchers at the University of Dundee, shows the 18th century prince Charles Edward Stuart with acne, blotchy, pale skin and dark bags under his eyes.

Bonnie Prince Charlie was the grandson of James II, the king deposed because of his Catholic faith. The prince attempted to take the British throne for his father in 1745, but his uprising was defeated in 1746.

The researchers photographed and mapped death masks of the prince, so 3D models could be produced with state-of-the-art software that "de-aged" him to produce the replica.

Barbora Vesela, a masters student who initiated the project, said that beauty was "subjective", but that the prince had "distinctive features", like his eyes and nose.

Read more: Who killed the princes in the tower? 500-year-old murder could soon be solved

Read more: Sussex home that Henry VIII gave to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves after marriage annulment on sale for over £2m

She added: "I have looked at previous reconstructions of historical figures and was interested as to how these could be done differently.

"I wanted to create an image of what he would have looked like during the Jacobite rising.

"There are death masks of Bonnie Prince Charlie that are accessible, while some are in private collections.

"We also know that he suffered a stroke before he died, so that made the process of age regression even more interesting to me."

Charles Edward Stuart's failed attempt to restore his father to the throne led to one of the most romanticised periods of Scottish history.

Despite some early victories, his army was defeated by government forces at the Battle of Culloden, near Inverness, in April 1746.

Bonnie Prince Charlie spent the next five months as a fugitive before fleeing to France and living on the continent for the rest of his life.

He died in Palazzo Muti in Rome, at the age of 67, after suffering a stroke. After his death, a cast of the prince's face was taken, which was common for famous people at the time.

Ms Vesela said: "It has been a pleasure to work with these artefacts. The access I have been given has been incredible.

"There are moments, when you are working with the masks, that it suddenly strikes you that this was once a living person.

"We don't tend to think about the age of people when we study history, but Prince Charlie was just 24 years old when he landed in Scotland and to visualise how young he was at this pivotal moment in history is fascinating.

"Hopefully this recreation encourages people to think about him as a person, instead of just a legend.

"At the same time, it is important not to romanticise him or the era of history.

"There are many accounts of him but having a face to look at helps us to view him as a human and not just a name from history."

"He has some interesting features.

"Beauty is a very subjective thing, but Bonnie Prince Charlie does have distinctive features, such as his nose and his eyes, that encourage you to study him.

The work will feature as part of the University of Dundee's annual Masters Show, which opens to the public on Saturday.

Tobias Houlton, who specialises in craniofacial identification and forensic imaging, said: "This has been a hugely exciting project.

"Through many hours of hard work, Barbora has given us an exciting new insight into European history.

"This recreation will undoubtedly fascinate the public and the added dynamic of using artificial age regression to bring him back to the Jacobite era, when he was most famous, showcases the range of expertise we have here at the University of Dundee."