The Sobieskis and Stuarts. Portrait of Charlotte, Duchess of Albany, Hugh Douglas Hamilton, 1788

pastel on paper, 1788
private collection

Charlotte Stuart (1753–1789), Duchess of Albany, was an illegitimate daughter of Charles Edward Stuart by Clementina Walkinshaw (1720-1802), a member of a Scottish noble family and named after Queen Clementina. They lived together for eight turbulent years. The political setback of his unsuccessful attempt to regain the British throne turned Charles into a deeply frustrated person, troubled by depression and alcoholism. Finally, with the support of King James, Clementina separated from the prince and took their daughter with her. The prince was enraged by the loss of his beloved Charlotte. Unable to regain her, he severed ties with Clementina and their daughter, who remained in her mother’s care in Paris for many years. It was not until five years before his death that the elderly Charles Edward formally recognised Charlotte and made her his heir in 1783, prompted to do so by a serious illness.

The portrait of Charlotte was painted in pastel in Rome in 1788 by Hugh Douglas Hamilton (1740–1808). It was not the first portrait she had commissioned from the Irish-born artist, who was working in Rome at the time. Previously, she had commissioned him to paint portraits of her father, her uncle Henry Benedict, and of herself.