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Prince Charlie & Flora MacDonald set sail
Before she became a legend, Flora MacDonald was simply a young woman asked one extraordinary question:
"Will you help the most wanted man in Britain escape?"
"🎶 Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean's a royal bed;
Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head."
~ The Skye Boat Song (lyrics by Sir Harold Boulton, 1884; traditional Scottish air collected by Anne Campbell MacLeod).
One of several tartan tributes to the memory of Flora MacDonald, this tartan was designed for Highland dancers competing at the Aboyne Highland Games in 1996, marking the 250th anniversary of her role in helping aid Charles Edward Stuart in his escape following the Battle of Culloden.
Disguised as an Irish maid named "Betty Burke," the Prince was ferried from Benbecula to Skye under Flora's protection, an act of courage that secured her place in Scottish history and folklore. Although she was later arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London, she became widely admired for her loyalty, bravery, and compassion.
The connection with Highland dancing is particularly appropriate, as one of the best-known National dances is Flora MacDonald's Fancy. Despite its name, the dance appears to date from the late nineteenth century rather than Flora's own lifetime, but it remains a favourite among Highland dancers and helps keep her story alive.
The tartan was created for dancers at the famous Aboyne Highland Games, often called "The Traditional Highland Games." Founded in 1867, the gathering is renowned not only for its competitions but also for its influence on Highland dance costume. In the early 1950s, the Aboyne committee introduced a distinctive style of dress for female dancers, believing that women should have an outfit different from the kilt traditionally worn by men. The resulting combination of tartan skirt, velvet bodice, white blouse, and tartan sash became known as the Aboyne dress and remains the standard attire for National dances such as Flora MacDonald's Fancy, The Scottish Lilt, and Blue Bonnets. 💚 💙 🤍 ❤️ 🏴 🎶 🕺 💃
On June 27, 1746, Flora MacDonald set sail with Bonnie Prince Charlie (the prince in disguise) to aid his escape from Scotland after the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
After his defeat at the battle of Culloden Moor in 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart was forced to flee for his life. After two months on the run he arrived at the island of South Uist where he met 24-year-old Flora. As both her step-father and her fiancée Allan MacDonald were in the Hanovarian army of King George II, she would have seemed an unlikely ally. However after some initial hesitation, she agreed to help the Prince escape.
She managed to get permission from her step-father, the commander of the local militia, to travel from Uist to the mainland, accompanied by two servants and a crew of six boatmen. The Prince was disguised as Betty Burke, an Irish spinning maid. They set sail in a small boat from Benbecula on 27th June 1746, not to the mainland but to Skye, landing in Kilmuir at what is today called Rudha Phrionnsa (Prince's Point).
After hiding overnight in a cottage, they made their way overland to Portree where the Prince was able to get a boat to the island of Raasay and from there, passage back to France. Charles is said to have presented Flora with a locket containing his portrait, supposedly saying, "I hope, madam, that we may meet in St James's yet." They never met again.
The part that Flora played in the escape of Bonnie Prince Charlie 'over the sea to Skye' is immortalised in the 'Skye Boat Song',
published in 1884:
“Speed bonny boat like a bird on a wing,
Onward the sailors cry.
Carry the lad that's born to be King,
Over the sea to Skye.”
Fictional portrayals of Flora MacDonald include:
Sir Walter Scott, Waverley (1814); an early historical novel of the Jacobite rebellion in which the hero must choose between two women, one of whom, Flora MacIvor, seems modeled on Flora MacDonald. This impression is strengthened by the use of Allan Ramsay's portrait of Flora Macdonald for the cover of the Penguin (2007) edition of the book.
Inglis Fletcher, The Scotswoman (1954) – a novel based on Flora MacDonald's life in North Carolina, during the American war of Independence.
Highlander: The Series – in the 3rd-season episode, "Take Back the Night", Ceirdwyn, an Immortal, is living under the name of "Flora MacDonald" when Bonnie Prince Charlie and his party stop there on their way to the coast, and the boat to take him from Scotland.
The Outlander series – the 6th book of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, "A Breath of Snow and Ashes", features an account of Flora MacDonald's arrival in the American colonies.
For more on the upcoming Aboyne Highland Games, click the dancer.