Outlander: Andrew Gower teases return of Bonnie Prince Charlie

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Prince Charles Stuart – better known by his moniker Bonnie Prince Charlie – made an unexpected comeback to Outlander with a flashback which saw the failed monarch fleeing Scotland after the disastrous Battle of Culloden. In a surreal but historically accurate scene, the would-be king of Scotland fled dressed as a woman in a boat.

He first appeared in season two of Outlander when Jamie (played by Sam Heughan) and his wife Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) travelled to Paris to infiltrate the French court and change the course of history to prevent the Battle of Culloden.

Despite their best efforts, the Prince would not be turned and planned to reclaim his birthright with the outcome proving devastating for Scotland.

The character was last seen in 2017’s episode The Battle Joined as the dead mounted up on the battlefield of Culloden after Jamie’s repeated warnings the men were exhausted and the fight against the English wouldn’t be a fair one.

Speaking about coming back after so long, Gower, 32, said: “Wow, how many years? I think it was season three, [it] was a good six, seven, maybe even longer, years ago.

“It’s so mad because the Outlander fanbase is so strong and so committed, I feel like I’ve never been away because they’ve supported everything I’ve done since then.”

The Liverpudlian actor said he was “still in touch” with the majority of the cast and saw each other now and then at various Outlander events.

He said: “It was so nice to be able to bookend that whole journey and because myself and Sam Heughan, a few of the cast, had always spoken about Bonnie Prince Charlie’s journey, how he dressed up as Betty Burke and left Scotland. It was really special to be back. Odd going back to a character after so long.”

Gower continued: “The amazing thing about being an actor is the older we get, we change and are influenced by different things. So, I think definitely Bonnie Prince Charlie definitely aged a little bit in the Scottish countryside.”

On whether fans could see more of Bonnie Prince Charlie in season seven, Gower said he wasn’t sure as he hadn’t read the later books in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander book series.

Along with his small cameo in Outlander, Gower is also going to be featuring in season four of Netflix thriller You opposite Penn Badgley, which has shifted from America to London this time.

He is also going to be reprising his role in Amazon Prime Video’s fantasy epic Carnival Row as Ezra Spurnrose.

Alongside his thriving acting career, Gower is a talented musician and impressive vocalist who performs under his band name Gustaffson.

He will be releasing his first EP The Jacaranda, a tribute to the famous Liverpool music venue of the same name, very soon.

The Jacaranda has been produced by Elbow’s Guy Garvey after Gower worked with fellow bandmate Craig Potter on the indie movie Running Naked.

Gower said: “I’ve always written music since I was 16. I was in bands in Liverpool. I did the Cavern many a time.

“But I had started songwriting again during lockdown and Craig caught wind of these tracks after having just filmed together on Running Naked and basically he asked me whether I wanted to make my EP with him. I fell to my knees in my kitchen.”

Potter and Gower then worked together on the four tracks with the actor preparing prior to going into the recording studio.  

Gower cited the Beatles, The Doors, and George Michael as some of his musical inspirations.

The EP makes for soulful listening and is something of a love letter to Gower’s home town as well as touching on politics with his track Kingdom in which he sings about countries without borders.

Gower said he wanted to “try and tell different stories” and “present these stories in different ways”, seeking inspiration from different places.

Compared to acting, where he would film something which would then come out a year later, Gower said he worked on the EP from the start to the finish.

“This for the first time for me was really special in that I got to be on a project from the beginning to the end and it’s my words.

“It’s something that’s really… every single song on this track means a lot to me. It’s really nice to have something that I’m putting out there that’s a bit of myself,” he said.

The Jacaranda launches on August 20

Outlander season 7 is in production and season 6 is streaming on STARZPLAY now

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