Francis Sempill (Jacobite)
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Francis Sempill (1708 – 1748), styled 2nd Lord Sempill from 1737, was a Jacobite of Scottish descent who became a leading agent for
James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...
in Paris.


Early life

Sempill was the son of Robert Sempill and Elizabeth Abercromby. In 1712 his father had been created
Lord Sempill of Dykehead Lord Sempill of Dykehead was a title of the Jacobite peerage in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 11 May 1712 by James Francis Edward Stuart for Robert Sempill, a grandson of Hugh Sempill, 5th Lord Sempill. James issued a "declaration of n ...
in the
Jacobite peerage The Jacobite peerage includes those peerages created by James II and VII, and the subsequent Jacobite pretenders, after James's deposition from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These creati ...
and Sempill would use this title after his father's death in 1737. He was born at the exiled Stuart court at
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the department of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the '' Musée d'Archéologie nationale'' (Nationa ...
and educated at the Scots College, Douai.


Jacobite agent

From 1730, Sempill became one of the most prominent and active Jacobite agents in France, and acted as the unofficial Stuart ambassador to
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
at Versailles after the Stuarts were forced to leave France for Rome due to the Anglo-French Alliance. Reflecting the confused nature of Jacobite politics at the time, Sempill worked alongside, and sometimes against, Daniel O'Brien and George Kelly who had also been commissioned to represent Stuart interests in France. In the five years before the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
, Sempill was responsible for greatly exaggerating Jacobite strength in order to gain French support, something which resulted in him earning enmity from both Jacobites and the French. After the death of
Cardinal Fleury Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
, Sempill carried a message to Louis XV from several prominent from English
Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...
, including the
Earl of Cork Earl of Cork is a title in the Peerage of Ireland, held in conjunction with the Earldom of Orrery since 1753. It was created in 1620 for Richard Boyle, 1st Baron Boyle. He had already been created Lord Boyle, Baron of Youghal, in the County ...
, requesting support for a restoration of the Stuart line. The French foreign minister,
Jean-Jacques Amelot de Chaillou Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...
, replied that considerable proof of English support for Jacobitism would be required before France could act. Sempill conveyed inflated and inaccurate confidence in the strength of the cause and a Franco-Jacobite invasion of Britain was planned towards the end of 1743.Correspondence of the family of MacGregor or Drummond of Balhaldie
National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
Such was Sempill's conviction that Prince Charles Stuart travelled to Paris, where he stayed at Sempill's house on the
rue de l'Estrapade The Rue de l’Estrapade is a street in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, situated at the border between the quartier du Val-de-Grâce and the quartier de la Sorbonne. It follows the line of the Wall of Philip II Augustus and is named after the ' ...
. The planned French expedition was, however, abandoned in the summer of 1744, by which time Prince Charles had lost trust in Sempill and publicly mocked him as "Lord Simple". Sempill was excluded from Prince Charles's plans for a new rising, but he subsequently worked to persuade Louis XV to mount an invasion during the 1745 rising. His efforts were embarrassed by the failure of England to rise in support of the rising and ended with Jacobite defeat at the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
. By this stage, Sempill had also lost the confidence of James Francis Edward Stuart. He had married Lady Mary Caryll, widow of Hon. John Caryll and daughter of Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth. Sempill died in 1748, isolated from the Jacobite court.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sempill, Francis 1708 births 1748 deaths 18th-century Scottish people Lords of Parliament in the Jacobite peerage Scottish expatriates in France Scottish Jacobites
Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...