I was born on June 10th, 1688 to James Stuart, King James II and VII and his second wife, Princess Mary Beatrice of Modena at St. James Palace in London as their first child. As soon as I was born, the rumor was spread that I was not a legitimate child of my parents. My mother, Mary of Modena, had long remained childless since her children all died in their infancies. My father was a devout Catholic and struggled to reign over the Protestant England and my birth as a Prince caused much debates.
Six months after my birth, in December 1688, Parliamentarians and William of Orange machinated the Glorious Revolution to depose my father. William himself ascended as William III to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland as a co-monarch of his wife Mary II. Mary, along with her younger sister, Anne, was a staunch Protestant, and despite the miserable marriage to William, she remained loyal to her Dutch husband. After she died in 1694 childless, William succeeded her as a sole ruler until March 1702.
My father, King James II of England and VII of Scotland
My cousin James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmmoth, who rebelled against my father and as a result executed
William of Orange, a Dutch-born Protestant Prince. As a coincidence or not, his paternal great great grand father was Gaspard de Coligny, a Protestant leader in the 16th century France.
My father fled to France to exile at St.Germain-en-Laye, and later joined by my mother and me. I grew up in France with other Jacobite children whose families also followed their sovereign in exile. In 1692, my sister Louise was born at St. Germain and we grew up together in Paris. Louis XIV of France recognized me as the rightful heir to the English, Scottish and Irish thrones, and upon the death of my father, I formerly declared myself as King James III and VIII. Recognized by France, Spain and the Papal States as a British sovereign instead of William III and his wife, Mary II, I hence became the center of the Jacobite movement.
John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar who fought for my cause in Scotland in 1715 at the Battle of Sheriffmuir
His opposition was skillfully led by John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
My cousin Louis XIV of France who endorsed me as a rightful monarch of the Britain
My nephew, James Radcliff, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater. Being only a year younger, he was my childhood companion and avid supporter throughout my entire life.
His execution on February 24, 1716
His son, Charles Radcliffe, 5th Earl of Derwentwater. One of the most avid supporters of ours. He was also executed by beheading for high treason.