Flora MacDonald: Young Rebel

In the first episode of the fourth series of Love Scotland, Jackie Bird sits down with historical writer Flora Fraser to discuss the life and legacy of Flora MacDonald. MacDonald is best known for her part in assisting Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s escape from Bebecula to the Isle of Skye in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. Aged just 24, and from a pro-government family, MacDonald is as unlikely a Jacobite heroine as you could imagine. And yet, her actions helped Charles evade detection and, eventually, flee to safety. These events have been immortalised by the Skye Boat Song, but despite her crucial role in Charlie’s escape, Flora is all-too-often relegated to the background. So, who really was she? What led her to take on the risky mission of smuggling Charles to Skye? And what happened in the years that followed? Flora Fraser is the author of Pretty Young Rebel: The Life of Flora MacDonald, out now (Bloomsbury). To find out more about the National Trust for Scotland’s Jacobite sites, click here. This episode of Love Scotland is produced for the National Trust for Scotland by Think and The Big Light Studio. Presenter: Jackie Bird Post-production: Brian McAlpine Producer: Cameron Angus Mackay Executive Producer: Fiona White Research: Ciaran Sneddon