James III reigned (1701-1766)
James was born in London in 1688, his birth and the rumours surrounding his substitution with a changeling; precipitated the Revolution of 1688 forcing his father to flee his British thrones. James however grew up entirely in Ireland and spoke Irish fluently; he was also a devout Catholic. James received a spectacular education from imported French and Italian tutors as well a group of Jesuit priests, his intellectual interests and sheer natural ability made him one of Irelands most intellectually impressive Monarchs.
In 1701 when his father died, James was just thirteen years old, the Regency was granted to James’ immensely popular Italian mother.
The day to day affairs of the state were handled by Mary-Beatrice and the Prime Minister the William 2nd Duke of Tyrconnel until James reached his majority in 1706, however he didn’t take full control of state affairs until 1709. The greatest tasks for Mary-Beatrice at this time were the Wars of Spanish Succession and the English Succession. James II’s dying wish was to continue support for his cousin Louis XIV in his war to gain acceptance of his grandson’s claim to the Spanish throne. Ireland thus became a garrison for French troops from which they could harry the English. During this war Queen Anne decided to pass the English throne to her father’s first cousin the Electress Sophia of Hanover. It is often said that Queen Anne genuinely believed that James III was a changeling but in light of his startling resemblance to James II and the subsequent birth of a second healthy child to Mary-Beatrice; Louise-Marie the Princess across the water, this seems highly dubious. Blatantly flouting the natural laws of succession Anne bypassed all Catholics in line for the succession and left the British throne to her second cousin George I, a German with little command of English and twenty-third in the legitimate succession to the throne.
During the war of Spanish succession Mary-Beatrice contracted two French marriages for her children, her daughter Louise-Marie the Princess Royal was married to the Duke of Berry, a grandson of Louis XV. James was engaged to Princess Charlotte-Aglae of Orleans, the daughter of the Duke of Orleans and future Regent for the infant King Louis XV. However due to the fact that Charlotte-Aglae was not born until 1700 the marriage did not take place until 1715, when James was twenty-seven years old and his bride was fifteen. Charlotte-Aglae was beautiful, witty and highly sexed, she appealed immensely to the vain King James and Charlotte-Aglae was pleased to be a Queen and thus outrank most of her siblings.
Ireland’s personal involvement in the War of Spanish Succession was minimal because of the reasonably small Irish army. The Irish were outraged by the 1711 act of Succession and launched a series of threats of rebellion and invasion of Britain. Irish finances however made this impossible. In 1715 George I succeeded to the English throne, rebellions took place in Wales and Scotland however there was overall support for a German protestant monarchy as opposed to an arguably legitimate Irish one.
The wedding festivities of James III and Charlotte-Aglae served as a welcome relief for the dreary mood after the succession debacle. Charlotte was resplendent and the festivities lasted for days. Charlotte-Aglae quickly established a French style salon where she and her husband were immersed in the company of other lively young people, artists, musicians and actors. Charlotte and James had a remarkable nine children who survived infancy;
· Beatrice (1717-1723)
· James Prince of Wales (1718-1721)
· Charles III King of Ireland (1720-1776)
· Thérèse Queen of Naples and Sicily, later Queen of Spain (1721-1795)
· Françoise Duchess of Penthièvre (1723-1762)
· Henry Cardinal-Archbishop of Armagh (1725-1797)
· Mary (1726-1728)
· Caroline Duchess of Tyrone (1728-1783)
· James Duke of Munster (1729-1779)
· Augustine Dauphine of France (1732-1769)
· Philip Duke of Tipperary (1733-1790)
· Henriette Duchess of Kildare (1734-1787)
. Charlotte managed to carve out a niche for herself as a cultural icon bringing; opera, ballet and various other French accomplishments to Ireland. James was remarkably uxorious, staying faithful to Charlotte-Aglae throughout their married life.
Upon the retirement of Tyrconnel after the conclusion of the War of Spanish Succession, James promoted his minister of the interior to the position of Prime Minister, together James and Fitzpatrick tried to steer Ireland’s foreign policy towards the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in Britain. Ireland remained in permanent alliance with France for protection.
Under Fitzpatrick’s successor the Earl of Cavan, Ireland developed a sophisticated legal system involving juries of peers and mandatory lawyers. The middle class exploded in Ireland’s main cities.
In 1744 under James and Cavan’s leadership Charles the Pretender Prince of Wales finally gained enough money and aid from France and Spain to launch an attack on Britain on behalf of his father, his loss at the battle of Culloden was the last attempt by the Stuarts to regain the British throne. Prince Charles’s invasion had succeeded with more ease and success than the English could have expected, the prospect of another successful Irish invasion drove George II to suggest the secret peace of Douglas. James had become prone to depression in the 1740’s; Culloden had finally brought the revelation that he would never rule the land of his birth. James III and George II signed the secret treaty of Douglas on the 17th of March 1745 in which they agreed to give up their claims to each other’s lands; James III would be undisputed King of Ireland and George II undisputed King of Britain.
In 1760 James worked to have his son-in law James 2nd Duke of Kildare (Husband of his youngest daughter Henriette) raised to the position of Prime Minister, fearing that his dissolute son Charles would be unable to reign alone. James III died of pneumonia in Dublin Castle in 1761, predeceasing his Queen Charlotte-Aglae by four years.