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Happy birthday, Andrew Gower: Why he made the perfect Bonnie Prince Charlie on Outlander

By Alexandria Ingham

Outlander Season 2 -- Courtesy of STARZ
Outlander Season 2 -- Courtesy of STARZ /
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Looking back at Bonnie Prince Charlie to ‘mark’ Andrew Gower’s birthday

When it comes to most hated Outlander characters, Bonnie Prince Charlie is likely up there. He wasn’t really a villain, but Andrew Gower made him exceptionally annoying (and in a good way).

Nov. 8 is Gower’s birthday. We certainly want to “mark” the occasion, and we’re doing that by looking at why Gower was simply perfect in the role of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

And if you want to see more annoying characters that he’s played, there are so many. Watch Poldark and Carnival Row just to get started.

Take a drink every time he says “mark me”

If we encouraged a drinking game for Outlander, we would certainly be extremely irresponsible. Throughout Outlander Season 2, Andrew Gower’s catchphrase was “mark me.” It was said so often that I waited for his character to say it on Carnival Row Season 1 (and laughed when another character said it to him!).

The best thing was Gower managed to say it with a straight face. It was like he didn’t realize how annoying the phrase was, which Bonnie Prince Charlie probably wouldn’t have done.

Sure, this statement wasn’t used in the books at all. It was a show invention, and I feel like it was the perfect addition to make BCP the most annoying character going.

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Spoilt, temperamental, and untrustworthy

You didn’t really know what Bonnie Prince Charlie was going to do. He had one goal in mind, and that was to get the British throne for his father. It was all he’d thought about, and he didn’t care who he threw under the bus horse cart to do it.

Nobody could trust BCP. And yet, that young-looking face made you feel like you should have been able to trust him. As long as you were on the same side as him, surely he would do as he said.

It all ked to his spoilt nature and temperamental personality.

He had a lot to prove with France and Spain turning their back on him. He needed to make it clear that he could be the next king, as he would with the death of his father. There was only one thing that would do that, and he was going to do it at any cost. He’d be your best friend if you were on the same journey as him but if you betrayed him, you’d be left out on your own (and possibly dead).

When people tell me that Brianna is a spoilt brat, I just think of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Nobody is as spoilt and as bratty as him, and Andrew Gower pulled that off perfectly. I’ll even forgive the lack of Italian accent that Charles would likely have had because of that.

Prince Charles Edward Stuart, commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, c1740s. Also known as the ‘Young Pretender’, Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788) was the last serious Stuart claimant to the British throne and leader of the unsuccessful Jacobite rebellion of 1745-1746. Charles’s grandfather was the exiled Roman Catholic king James II, and his father, James Edward, the Old Pretender, affected in exile the title King James III. Charles was reared a Catholic and trained in the arts of war. He was forced to flee into exile after the disastrous defeat of the Scots at Culloden on 16 April 1746. Illustration from Story of the British Nation, Volume III, Walter Hutchinson, (London, c1920s). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
Prince Charles Edward Stuart, commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, c1740s. Also known as the ‘Young Pretender’, Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788) was the last serious Stuart claimant to the British throne and leader of the unsuccessful Jacobite rebellion of 1745-1746. Charles’s grandfather was the exiled Roman Catholic king James II, and his father, James Edward, the Old Pretender, affected in exile the title King James III. Charles was reared a Catholic and trained in the arts of war. He was forced to flee into exile after the disastrous defeat of the Scots at Culloden on 16 April 1746. Illustration from Story of the British Nation, Volume III, Walter Hutchinson, (London, c1920s). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images) /

He looked the part

When you compare images of the real Bonnie Prince Charlie and Andrew Gower’s Outlander character, there is a resemblance. The show managed to find a great actor who looked the role.

This isn’t always possible. Sometimes the look has to be sacrificed for the sake of the acting (and I’m perfectly okay with that), but I do love it when everything comes together.

I now can’t imagine anyone other than Gower playing Bonnie Prince Charlie. I also can’t help but imagine this tempermental character as the real BCP.

Next. 5 Outlander characters you wouldn't want to be quarantined with. dark

What did you think of Andrew Gower’s performance on Outlander Season 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Happy birthday, Andrew Gower!

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