The Two Carlos
Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" On 24 January 1705, Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi was born in Apulia, Italy, into a noble family that had fallen on hard times. Fifteen years later, on 31 December 1720, Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was born in Rome, into the deposed royal family of Scotland, England and Ireland. Since he grew up in Italy, he may well have been known to childhood friends as Carlo. These two Carlos are better known to history as Bonnie Prince Charlie and the castrato singer Farinelli. Carlo Broschi, "Farinelli" Both died in the 1780s, but who had the better life? Charles Edward Stuart was fêted and adored as a child in Rome. He had a successful military career, and believed in his destiny to reclaim his family's throne. Carlo Broschi was castrated at ...