Who Is 'Outlander's' Flora MacDonald And Is She Based On A Real Person?

Outlander fans have been treated to another flashback to the events surrounding the Battle of Culloden in Outlander Season 6, Episode 5. To kick off the episode, audiences witness the moment Bonnie Prince Charlie (also known as Charles Edward Stuart) was granted safe passage to the Isle of Skye, Scotland. However, he could not have made his escape without a woman named Flora MacDonald (Shauna MacDonald).

Later in the episode, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) joked Jamie (Sam Heughan) has a crush on Flora ahead of reuniting with her in North Carolina but who is Flora MacDonald and is she based on a real person? Newsweek has everything you need to know.

Who is Flora MacDonald in Outlander?

In Outlander Season 6, Flora MacDonald is somewhat of a celebrity figure in the eyes of the Scots in North America.

Just like the events in A Breath of Snow and Ashes, the sixth Outlander novel by Diana Gabaldon on which the show is based, Jamie meets Flora at a BBQ, hosted by his Aunt Jocasta at her River Run plantation.

Jamie and Flora's meeting comes almost 30 years after she helped Bonnie Prince Charlie flee Scotland following the Battle of Culloden, where Jamie and the Fraser clan fought for the young prince.

In A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Gabaldon writes: "Flora MacDonald, the woman who had saved Charles Stuart from the English after Culloden, dressing him in her maid's clothes and smuggling him to a rendezvous with the French on the Isle of Skye, was a living legend to the Scottish Highlanders, and her recent arrival in the colony was the subject of vast excitement, news of it coming even as far as the Ridge."

Flora MacDonald is a supporter of the British cause as the outbreak of the American Revolution (1775-83) looms closer and closer, which directly contrasts with Jamie and Claire's (currently secret) support for the American colonists.

Is Flora MacDonald Based On A Real Person?

Yes, Flora MacDonald in Outlander is based on a real historical figure.

The real Flora MacDonald was a Scottish musician turned heroine in the 18th century.

She famously helped the real Jacobite Prince, Bonnie Prince Charlie, escape to the Isle of Skye from Benbecula in the Western Isles of Scotland following his defeat at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746.

The Battle of Culloden saw Stuart and his supporters, known as the Jacobites, make several last attempts to take back the English throne (which included the title King of Scotland and Ireland) that they believed belonged to the Stuart family.

The final battle was the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, which ultimately ended in defeat at the hands of the Hanoverian army led by the Duke of Cumberland, King George II's youngest son.

Flora MacDonald's benefactor, Lady Clanranald, the wife of a local clan chief, was a Jacobite sympathizer and as a result, Flora had been kept well informed of Stuart's whereabouts. He had fled to the Outer Hebrides, with a bounty on his head at the hands of the British crown following the Culloden defeat.

Stuart arrived in Benbecula in June 1746 and with the help of MacDonald, 24, he fled to the Isle of Skye on June 28 on a small boat.

To guarantee safe passage, he dressed as MacDonald's Irish serving maid, Betty Burke. To make the journey, MacDonald had to obtain a pass for herself, her manservant, Betty (Stuart), and a crew. As there was a huge manhunt for Stuart, she also had to obtain permission from the local citizen soldiers who were in charge of arrivals and departures from the island of Benbecula.

After a successful voyage, Stuart left the Isle of Skye at the end of June, on board a French ship. He spent the rest of his life traveling Europe and never succeeded in reclaiming the English throne. He died in Rome on January 31, 1788.

For her part in the escape, MacDonald was arrested and spent one year in prison. She returned to Skye in 1747 as part of a general pardon by the British government after her sentence and married Allan MacDonald of Kingsburgh.

The real MacDonald also traveled to North America as seen in Outlander. In 1774, the MacDonalds and their two sons moved to Cheek's Creek in present-day Montgomery County, North Carolina.

Just like the Flora MacDonald viewers meet in Outlander, she supported the British in the American Revolutionary War. She rallied the Scots living in North Carolina to support British officer Donald MacDonald (Jim Sweeney), who is also a character in the Outlander series.

Flora MacDonald's real-life husband, Allan MacDonald, served with the British forces in the war and famously fought and was captured at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776.

In 1777, Flora MacDonald returned to Scotland where she was later joined by her husband. Flora MacDonald died whilst living on the Isle of Skye in March 1790. Her body was wrapped in a sheet that Bonnie Prince Charlie had used during his escape and she was buried in Kilmuir cemetery.

Stuart and Flora MacDonald's journey "over the sea to Skye" is immortalized in the song "Skye Boat Song" published in 1884 and written by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet, which Outlander fans will know well as the show's theme song.

Scottish actress MacDonald joked ahead of the Outlander premiere: "I only got the part as I have the right name."

She continued: "Actually it is an honor to portray a woman who is such a part of Scottish history and known for her bravery, wile, and intelligence."

Outlander airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.