The Forgotten French Invasion: Cardinal de Tencin's Plan to Restore the Stuarts

Oct 09, 2024

The early 18th century was a period of turbulence for the British Isles, particularly due to the ongoing Jacobite efforts to restore the Stuart dynasty. While the rebellions within Britain are well-known, much less attention is often given to the broader international efforts, particularly those of France, to bring the Stuarts back to the throne. One such effort was spearheaded by Cardinal Pierre Guérin de Tencin, a French statesman who saw an invasion of England as a strategic maneuver to aid France in its larger European wars.

The Jacobite Cause in Exile

By the 1740s, the Stuart dynasty had been living in exile for several decades. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when James II of England was overthrown in favor of William of Orange, the Stuart line had largely been relegated to the European continent, finding refuge among sympathetic monarchs. The hopes of their restoration were never fully extinguished, as many still viewed the Stuart claim as legitimate, particularly in Scotland and Ireland.

By 1744, the leading figure of the exiled Stuarts was Charles Edward Stuart, known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie," the grandson of the ousted James II. His father, James Francis Edward Stuart, often referred to as the "Old Pretender," was largely seen as having lost his momentum, so it fell to Charles to lead the charge. At just 23 years old, Charles was eager and determined to reclaim the British throne for his family. However, he needed substantial support from a European power to stand any chance of succeeding, and that’s where France, under Cardinal de Tencin’s influence, entered the picture.

Cardinal de Tencin: The Man Behind the Plan

Cardinal Pierre Guérin de Tencin, an ambitious and politically astute clergyman, was a key figure in the French court. Serving as one of King Louis XV's advisors, he was deeply involved in the foreign policy decisions of France during the War of the Austrian Succession. At this time, Britain was one of France’s chief rivals in the ongoing European conflicts, and de Tencin believed that supporting the Jacobite cause would serve as an effective strategy to weaken Britain from within.

Cardinal de Tencin viewed the Stuart restoration as a double-edged sword: it would not only destabilize Britain, but it would also shift the balance of power in Europe in favor of France. The rebellion would serve as a significant distraction, drawing British attention away from the continent and providing France with an opportunity to gain advantages in the broader European conflict.

The 1744 Invasion Plan: A Bold but Doomed Scheme

Cardinal de Tencin set to work on a plan to launch an invasion of England. The strategy was to back Charles Edward Stuart with both financial support and military assistance, thus giving the Jacobite cause a significant boost. In early 1744, the French prepared a fleet to transport Prince Charles and a French army across the English Channel. The invasion plan was ambitious: if successful, it could have changed the course of British history by restoring the Stuart dynasty and ending the reign of the Hanoverians.

The French fleet gathered at Dunkirk, ready to sail for England. The aim was to land near the Thames Estuary, close enough to London to stir up panic and rally Jacobite sympathizers within England. On the surface, the plan seemed feasible. British forces were stretched thin, as many troops were stationed abroad, fighting in the War of the Austrian Succession. France, a formidable military power, hoped that the combined force of Jacobite uprisings in Scotland and an invasion from the south would prove overwhelming for Britain.

However, despite its promise, the invasion never materialized. As the fleet was preparing to set sail, a powerful storm hit the English Channel in February 1744. The storm was devastating to the French fleet, damaging many ships and scattering the fleet back to its ports. The combination of logistical setbacks and the presence of British naval forces, which had been patrolling the Channel, meant that the invasion had to be called off before it even began.

This marked the first of many near-misses for Charles Edward Stuart, whose desire to reclaim the British throne was repeatedly stymied by a mixture of bad luck, poor timing, and strategic miscalculations.

The Shift in Strategy: From French Armies to Highland Clans

After the failure of the 1744 invasion, Cardinal de Tencin and the French court shifted their focus. Rather than launching a full-scale invasion with French troops, they decided to back a more guerrilla-style Jacobite uprising in Scotland, led by Charles himself. De Tencin was still committed to the cause but realized that France’s involvement would need to be less direct, at least at the outset.

Charles, refusing to give up, took matters into his own hands. In July 1745, he sailed from France to the west coast of Scotland with only a small group of seven loyal followers, an expedition that seemed doomed from the start. Upon arriving in Scotland, he raised the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan, signaling the start of what would become the famous Jacobite Rising of 1745, also known as "The '45."

With little more than a few hundred Highland clansmen at his side, Charles began his march south. His charisma and determination soon swelled the Jacobite ranks to several thousand. Against all odds, the Jacobites captured Edinburgh and inflicted a crushing defeat on the government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans in September 1745.

Despite the momentum, the French were hesitant to commit further resources. De Tencin and the French government had already invested in the initial failed invasion and were wary of risking more ships and troops without a clearer path to victory. Though they did provide some supplies and military advisors to Charles’ forces, it was far from the full-scale invasion that had once been envisioned.

The Aftermath: The End of French Support

The 1745 Jacobite uprising nearly succeeded. Prince Charles and his army marched deep into England, reaching as far as Derby, just 120 miles from London. However, the lack of reinforcements, combined with wavering support from his Highland chiefs, led to the decision to retreat back to Scotland. The fateful Battle of Culloden in April 1746 marked the end of the Jacobite cause. Charles’ army was decisively defeated by government forces under the Duke of Cumberland, and the dream of a Stuart restoration died on the moors of Culloden.

The failure of the 1745 rising marked the end of significant French support for the Jacobites. Though France had once seen the Stuarts as a useful tool to weaken Britain, the losses and repeated failures had made them too much of a liability. Cardinal de Tencin's grand strategy to destabilize Britain through a Jacobite uprising ultimately fell short, not just due to bad luck but also because of miscalculations in both military and political strategy.

Conclusion: What Could Have Been

Cardinal de Tencin’s plans to invade England and restore the Stuarts remain one of the most intriguing "what-ifs" of British history. Had the 1744 invasion succeeded, or had France committed more fully to backing Charles Edward Stuart, the outcome of the Jacobite cause could have been very different. The failure of the invasion—and later, the failure of the 1745 rebellion—cemented the Hanoverian dynasty in Britain and relegated the Stuarts to the annals of history. Nonetheless, the episode remains a testament to the complexity of international politics in the 18th century and the profound impact that foreign powers could have on internal British affairs.