Order of the White Rose (1886–1915) facts for kids
The Order of the White Rose was a special club started in 1886 by Bertram Ashburnham, 5th Earl of Ashburnham. It was like a new version of an older group called the Cycle Club. Many writers and artists joined this Order, and it helped bring back interest in the Neo-Jacobite Revival during the 1890s. The Order stopped meeting when the First World War began. Later, in 1926, the Royal Stuart Society was created to continue its goals and ideas.
History of the Order
Jacobites were people who wanted the House of Stuart family to be the kings and queens of England, Scotland, and Ireland again. After a big uprising in 1745 (the Jacobite rising of 1745), it became very risky to be a Jacobite. Because of this, Jacobite supporters had to form secret clubs and groups to talk about their ideas privately.
A well-known example was the "Cycle of the White Rose," often called the Cycle Club. This club was started in 1710 by the Williams-Wynn family in North Wales. The Cycle Club continued to meet under the family's support until the 1860s.
How the Order Started
In 1886, Bertram Ashburnham sent out a leaflet looking for people who shared Jacobite ideas. One person who responded was Melville Henry Massue. Together, they formed the Order of the White Rose. This new Jacobite group was seen as the next step after the Cycle Club. The Order officially began on June 10, 1886.
The Order was also influenced by the Oxford Movement from the 1830s and 1840s. This movement supported Anglo-Catholicism and saw King Charles I as a special hero.
The Order attracted people who supported Irish and Scottish independence. While these different groups joined to support the return of the Stuart family, they also shared a dislike for the scientific and modern democratic ideas of their time. Some members even thought about a military plan to remove the current royal family (the Hanoverians) and put Princess Maria Theresa on the British throne. However, this plan was never carried out.
The Neo-Jacobite Revival
In 1889, the New Gallery in London held a large exhibition of items related to the House of Stuart. This event was organized by Henry Jenner. Bertram Ashburnham, who was the president of the gallery, convinced Queen Victoria to lend several items for the exhibition. Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont (Queen Victoria's daughter-in-law) also lent items. Families from England and Scotland with Jacobite connections also donated pieces.
The exhibition was very popular and brought new public interest in the House of Stuart and Jacobitism.
The Order of the White Rose was mostly a romantic group. It focused on looking back at a past vision of Jacobitism. Many artists and writers joined, including Frederick Lee, Henry Jenner, Kitty Lee Jenner, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Robert Edward Francillon, Charles Augustus Howell, Stuart Richard Erskine, Andrew Lang, and Herbert Vivian. The Order even published its own newspaper called The Royalist from 1890 to 1903.
The success of the exhibition sparked new interest in the political side of the Jacobite cause, especially among people who supported monarchies and Anglo-Catholics. Soon after the exhibition, new Jacobite groups started to form. In 1890, Vivian and Erskine started a weekly newspaper, The Whirlwind, which promoted Jacobite political views.
Ashburnham did not support the political side of the movement. In 1891, the Order of the White Rose split. Vivian, Erskine, and Melville Henry Massue formed a new group called the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland. Vivian and Massue became important leaders in the neo-Jacobite revival. Erskine soon focused his political efforts on Scottish Nationalism, which was a related cause. The League became very good at promoting Jacobitism, more than had been seen since the 1700s. Several other Jacobite and Legitimist groups formed in the early 1890s. Even though these groups were serious, many people found them amusing.
The Order was the main group for the artistic and historical aspects of Jacobitism. Art dealer Charles Augustus Howell and journalist Sebastian Evans were members. Poets like W. B. Yeats and Andrew Lang were also interested in the cause. By 1910, the Order had even inspired a branch in North America.
Closure of the Order
In 1914, just after the start of the First World War, Prince Rupprecht appeared in a German army uniform. According to Jacobite beliefs, he was the rightful king of England, Ireland, and Scotland. His appearance in support of the Kaiser (the German Emperor) quickly turned public opinion against the Neo-Jacobites. Many supporters left the Order, and it soon closed down.
