Henry Benedict Stuart
Catholic cardinal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Benedict Maria Clement Thomas Francis Xavier Stuart (11 March 1725 - 13 July 1807) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal, as well as the fourth and final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, and brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne. After Charles's death in January 1788 the Pope did not recognise Henry as the lawful ruler of England, Scotland and Ireland, but referred to him as the Cardinal Duke of York.[1]
Henry Benedict Stuart | |||||
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![]() Henry Benedict Stuart, "Cardinal-Duke of York" | |||||
Jacobite pretender | |||||
Pretendence | 31 January 1788 – 13 July 1807 | ||||
Predecessor | Charles III | ||||
Successor | Charles IV | ||||
Born | (1725-03-11)11 March 1725 Rome, Papal States | ||||
Died | 13 July 1807(1807-07-13) (aged 82) Frascati, Rome, Papal States | ||||
Burial | |||||
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House | House of Stuart | ||||
Father | "James III and VIII" | ||||
Mother | Maria Klementyna Sobieska |
He spent his life in the Papal States and had a long career in the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, rising to become the Dean of the College of Cardinals and Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri. At the time of his death he was (and still is) one of the longest serving Cardinals in the Church's history.
When he was young, Henry's father made him Duke of York (in the Jacobite peerage), and that was how he was best known. Upon the death of his brother in 1788 Henry became known by Jacobites, and within his personal entourage, as Henry IX of England, although publicly he referred to himself as Cardinal-Duke of York nuncupatus.