Bonnie Prince Charlie

Prince Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, remains one of the most famous and debated figures in Scottish history. To some, he represents dynastic loyalty and the Jacobite cause; to others, he is a deeply divisive political figure whose campaign brought hardship, bloodshed, and lasting consequences. At Bannockburn House, his significance lies not in legend alone, but in the fact that he was here and that the house played a real role in the events of 1745 and 1746.

Prince Charles first came to Bannockburn House on 14 September 1745 as the Jacobite army moved south. He returned in early January 1746, when Bannockburn House served as an important Jacobite headquarters during the siege of Stirling. From here, the Jacobite campaign unfolded around Stirling Castle and into the wider conflict that led to the Battle of Falkirk Muir on 17 January 1746. These visits place Bannockburn House at the heart of one of the most dramatic episodes in Scottish history.

Clementina Walkinsahw

The house is also associated with Clementina Walkinshaw, niece of Sir Hugh Paterson of Bannockburn who was living at Bannockburn House. During the Prince’s stay in January 1746, later tradition holds that she nursed him when he was unwell. Their relationship would become historically significant after the Rising. In 1752, Clementina joined the Prince in exile and the following year they had a daughter Charlotte, Duchess of Albany, Charles’ only recognised child. However, the relationship soured and Clementina and young Charlotte left him around 1760. Although the Prince did marry Princess Louise Stolberg-Gedem in 1772, this union failed and was childless. By 1784, he was alone again and legitimised Charlotte, who it’s rumoured, left her own family to nurse him in his last years.

Siege of Stirling

The Prince and his army came back to Bannockburn House on 6 January 1746. Using the house as his headquarters, he laid siege to Stirling attempting to pressure Stirling Castle into surrender placing Bannockburn House at the centre of military planning, movement, and command in the days leading up to the Battle of Falkirk Muir and the Retreat north. What makes Bannockburn House especially remarkable is that this story is not just preserved in written accounts and oral tradition, but in physical evidence. 

The Bed

That story deepened further in February 2026, when Trust researchers announced the discovery of a lead ball lodged within part of a historic bed associated with the same room. After discovering five layers of fabric upholstered onto the headboard and damaged on both the veneer and fabric, X-ray imaging and forensic analysis were preformed. A deformed lead projectile consistent with 18th-century pistol shot was found, raising the possibility that more than one shot may have been fired. These finds are a rare and powerful example of oral tradition, archival history, and material evidence beginning to converge with the help of teamwork between experts, academics, and the community.

History Brought to life

For Bannockburn House, Bonnie Prince Charlie is therefore important not simply because he was a famous visitor, but because his presence connects the house to national politics, the Jacobite siege of Stirling, and a story that may still be written into the fabric of the building itself. The wall panelling, the bed, and the surviving interiors all remind us that great historical events were lived out in real rooms, by real people, in moments of danger, uncertainty, and consequence.

Today, ongoing conservation and research at Bannockburn House aim to protect that evidence and better understand what happened here in January 1746. The story is not presented as simple romance or myth, but as an evolving historical investigation, one that continues to shed light on Bannockburn House’s place in the Jacobite rising.