1722 - 1790

The Jacobite sympathizers knew this as well and began looking for someone to aid them. They settled on a healthy, spirited, practical woman named Flora MacDonald. When she was initially approached by the Jacobite supporters, she refused; both her fiance Allan MacDonald and her foster-father, Clanranald, were members of King George's forces. However, she was told that the plan had been made by her foster-father himself, so she eventually agreed to help. On June 20th, 1746, the young Prince and Flora met for the first time. They remained in hiding to plan and prepare for another week after that.

Disguised as a woman (and going under the name Betty Burke), Charles Stuart was smuggled off the Isle of Ulst by Flora and Neil MacDonald (another supporter). There were several close calls during the escape; news arrived that General Campbell had landed on the island to search for the fleeing prince (but they were able to leave before Campbell was able to find them) and the fugitives, in their small boat, had to brave a storm in their crossing to the Isle of Skye. Despite the odds against them, the trip was successful and Stuart was able to obtain passage to France. It has also been rumoured that there was a romance between Flora MacDonald and the Bonnie Prince, but it was never proven.

Soon after Stuart's escape, Flora was labelled as a traitor, tracked down and arrested, and imprisoned briefly in the tower of London (she was released in 1747). She later married her fiance, Allan, and mothered a family of seven children. She emigrated to North Carolina in the 1770s, but they later moved to Nova Scotia after they lost everything supporting the British in the War of Independence. Several years later she returned home to the Britain, where she lived until her death on March 3rd, 1790, a sheet in which Bonny Prince Charlie had slept as her shroud. Today there exists the Flora MacDonald Academy in Red Springs North Carolina, and her heroic act has been commemorated in highland song and dance. Her grave site/memorial is located at Kilmuir, 20 miles from Portree.