Who was Bonnie Prince Charlie, and why is there a cast of his head?

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, They used copies of a cast of the Prince's real face to reconstruct what he would have looked like

Researchers say they have made a "lifelike" recreation of the face of a Prince from the 18th century.

The face is of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, who is more commonly known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'.

He had a cast of his face taken after he died, which was quite common for royalty at the time.

This cast has helped experts to create a 3D image of the Prince's face, and imagine what he might have looked like.

Who was Bonnie Prince Charlie?

Get your history hat on, and turn the clocks back to the 1600s!

Prince Charles Edward Stuart - or 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' as he's often known - was the grandson of James II, who was King of England in 1685.

Image source, Print Collector

Image caption, Not everyone was happy with James being King at the time

James II was a Catholic, and also the King of Scotland, where he was King James VII.

However, he was deposed by the his daughter Mary, who was a protestant, and her husband William. She would then become Mary II of England.

If you depose someone, it means you remove them from their position, and take it over.

Image source, Print Collector

Image caption, Mary II's husband William of Orange brought his army to Devon in England in 1688. It was known as the 'Glorious Revolution'

At the time, there was conflict between Catholics and Protestants about who should be in charge of the country, and how Christianity should be performed.

James II's followers were called Jacobites. The Jacobites tried to get James' son (Prince Charlie's dad) on the throne in 1715, but didn't work.

Then, in 1745, another Jacobite rebellion started, with Prince Charlie at the front. He was keen to get his dad on the throne.

Image source, Hulton Archive

Image caption, The Prince was successful in Edinburgh, taking over Holyrood House as his own, but his success didn't last for long

After several failed battles, the Jacobites retreated, and Prince Charlie fled to the Isle of Skye, in Scotland.

After he died, he had his face cast - and it's now being used hundreds of years later!

What does the mask look like?

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, Death masks were mapped and then technology de-aged the facial features

Supposedly, Prince Charlie had 'good looks' - historians say this is why he got his nickname of 'bonnie' - it means beautiful or pretty.

The imaging that experts have done on his face cast show him with blonde ringlets in his hair, and blotches on his skin.

This is what they think he looked like during the Jacobite uprising, when he would have been 24 years old.

Although the cast was made when he was quite old, experts say they used 'de-aging' techniques to make him look younger.

How did they do it?

Image caption, This is what he looked like in a painting - do you think it's similar?

It took researchers at the University of Glasgow several months to analyse copies of the cast and put a model together.

Using almost 500 pictures, they managed to make a 3D scan of his face.

Barbora Vesela, who was working on the project, said it made her really think about the human beings behind historical events, when you can see what they looked like.