So goes the Scottish folk song that recalls the flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie to the Isle of Skye after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The story of the Young Pretender’s escape, disguising himself as Flora MacDonald’s maid, Betty Burke, quickly became the stuff of Jacobite legend.
A scrap of that legend proved popular with buyers, however, at a recent Lyon & Turnbull auction. A lot including a section 18th century printed fabric believed to be part of the Betty Burke costume surpassed its upper estimate to take £5250 including buyer’s premium at the Edinburgh saleroom’s Scottish silver and applied arts auction on August 16.
The fabric was offered in a frame that included a label reading: The fragment from a dress given to Bonnie Prince Charlie for his disguise as Bettie Burke, many years later he gave it to Lady Mary Stewart, Wife of Lord Fortrose.
The fragment differs in design from another existing piece also said to be from the Betty Burke costume. That version is pinned inside a copy of the Lyon in Mourning which is currently on display at the Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland (ending November 12).
