THE BIRTH OF THE ‘OLD PRETENDER’. 4to. (8) pp. Bound in modern marbled boards. Rare sole edition of this Portuguese newsletter printed at the behest of the Court of Lisbon, affirming the circumstances of the birth of the Prince of Wales, James Francis Edward, in 1688. Later known as the Old Pretender, the infant would have succeeded the throne as James III of England / James VIII of Scotland had it not been for the invasion of William of Orange in November of 1688. The present pamphlet presumably predates the invasion, and “describes the circumstances of the birth of the prince, the baptism, diplomatic responses and celebrations” (OCLC), probably in response to popular rumors already swirling as far south as Portugal that James Francis Edward was in fact a changeling. “On 10 June 1688… Mary of Modena upset all expectation and gave birth to a living and healthy boy, James Francis Edward, who would undoubtedly be raised a Catholic and would be next in line to the throne. The birth of this royal baby was largely greeted with fear, dread and outright denial. James’s enemies later developed an elaborate theory that a live newborn from another mother had been slipped into Mary of Modena’s bed in a warming pan to replace her own stillborn child and to be presented as the male heir to the throne… The birth of the Catholic male heir galvanized James’s enemies, such as the ‘Immortal Seven’ of Whig hagiography, who shortly after the birth addressed their letter to William of Orange ‘asking’ him to invade to ensure the summoning of a ‘free parliament’. William of Orange used the wide-spread doubts surrounding the birth as one of the justifications for his invasion, claiming that he intended to come to England in order to ensure that a proper investigation was made into the circumstances of the infant’s birth. On 22 October James II responded by summoning a special meeting of the privy council where the detailed testimony of those present at the birth, attesting that it was indeed Mary Beatrice’s child, was heard and formally registered in Chancery. This little availed James, as William’s invasion fleet had already set sail and landed at Torbay on 5 November. James panicked as he saw William’s steady advance on the capital; on 10 December sent the six-month old Prince of Wales with his mother Mary of Modena to France for safety, where they both remained in exile for the rest of their lives.” (History of Parliament website). OCLC shows the NLS and Newberry only.