MI444/49 Wgt. 52.94gr  CLEMEMTINA’S ESCAPE FROM INNSBRUCK a story of high political drama.  In 1689 James II was forced to flee England in the face of a revolution.  The catalyst for this usurpation was birth of a royal prince, also named James, who was being raised as a catholic. This was too much for the English elites who clearly remembered the turbulent years of religious prosecutions and feared the heavy hand of popery interfering in their freedoms. At the invitation of parliament, King James was duly replaced in a bloodless revolution by his daughter Mary and his son in law William of Orange, both staunch protestants. Thirteen year later, when both Mary and William had died, Mary’s protestant sister Anne became queen. In 1714 worn out from 13 failed pregnancies, Anne died leaving no heir.  Parliament now invited George, Elector of Hannover to accept the English throne. George couldn’t speak much English, was completely ignorant of British laws and customs, and had a very weak claim to the crown of Great Britain. The time now seemed ripe for the Catholic Stuart line to reclaim the throne. For the past 25 years the deposed King, James II never gave up on the dream of regaining his kingdom.  He conspired with any European power who had a beef against England (primarily France) but always failed to raise enough money for an invasion. He died in 1701, but his dream of regaining the British throne was kept alive by his son now known as the “pretender to the throne” James III. In 1714 James and Clementina Sobieski, the granddaughter of Polish kings and a wealthy heiress in her own right, were betrothed. Such a union was a threat to the unpopular King George I and he took action. He pressured the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, to stop the marriage. Charles complied and intercepted Clementina on her way to her wedding and had her imprisoned in Innsbruck Castle. In a daring escape Clementina was freed and successfully evaded imperial troops to finally arrive in Papal territory. Freed from the clutches of the Holy Roman Emperor and the secret agents of King George, Clementina was married to James Stuart on the 3rd of September 1719. It turned out that the fears of the Hanoverian King of England were well founded. In December of 1720 Clementina gave birth to Charles Stuart, later known to be known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. He would be the focal point of a future Scottish rebellion and a complete thorn in the side of Hanoverian dynasty. However, for the beautiful Clementina, although it produced two sons, the marriage turned out to be a disaster. In 1725 ,shortly after the birth of her second son, she left James accusing him of adultery and not educating their sons as Catholics.  Although the first accusation didn’t bother the Pope, the second got him involved. After all the Pope was footing the bill for James’s royal lifestyle in Italy. Things continued to get very public and very messy between the royal couple until a reproachment was finally made in 1728. However, it was all for show as Maria Clementina and James lived the rest of their marriage separated. James resided in Albano, while Maria Clementina lived in the Palazzo Muti in Rome. Maria Clementina died at the young age of 32 on 18 January 1735.  Pope Clement VII ordered a state funeral and she was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica.  Obv: The high relief and rather voluptuous bust of Clementina (a promise of the fertility to come). Rev: Chariot entering Rome. A choice medal, nicely engraved in high relief. Reflective fields flashing through delicate old cabinet toning. A few scattered stray hairlines visible on the reverse, but the portrait is immaculate. I’ve seen a small number of this medal over the last 50 years including two recently auctioned in Europe and so far none of them have come close to equaling this example. Certainly among the best examples in private hands.  Ex Ponterio Auction, 4 April 1997 ,lot 3549.  MS64