Changes at the Court During the Nineteen

Abstract

In December 1718, while James III was living in the Palazzo Gualterio, the news reached Rome that Great Britain had declared war on Spain. The Duke of Ormonde and the Earl Marischal had both gone to Madrid, and the Spanish government was preparing to send a large force to invade England and thereby restore the Stuart king. The invasion would be commanded by the Duke of Ormonde, but a diversionary force would also be sent to Scotland under the Earl Marischal.¹ In a letter dated 22 December, Ormonde informed James that “it is the King of Spain’s desire that you should come away immediately and as privately as possible and not to bring above two or three persons at most”. Cardinal Alberoni, the chief minister to Philip V, would make available a Spanish ship and had suggested with Ormonde’s agreement that “you ought to disguise yourself, even in a livery if it be necessary”. Cardinal Acquaviva, the Spanish ambassador, should not be informed: “Alberoni insists on the strictest secrecy, all depending on it.”² During January 1719, therefore, while he was attending the operas and ostensibly waiting to move into the Palazzo del Re, the king was making secret plans to leave Rome and travel by sea to Spain.