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The origins of this nursery rhyme are rooted in the traditionally tense relationship between England and Scotland. England, whose standard bore the emblem of a lion, and Scotland, represented by a unicorn, had been at constant odds with each other since long before the English invasion of 1296. But this all calmed down when James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1604, uniting the two kingdoms under the Scottish Stuart dynasty. To this day, the royal Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom bears both the lion of England and the unicorn of Scotland.

Unfortunately, the Stuart monarchy didn't prove a particularly steady one and did not last long on the English throne, as various of the other nursery rhymes show (see REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER and ROCK-A-BYE, BABY). Not one but two Stuart kings were sacked by Parliament and the people, and in 1714 the Hanoverian royal family took over.

Although technically now British citizens, the Scots had remained loyal to the Stuart line, and when Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, landed in Scotland in 1745, many rallied to his cause and the Lion and the Unicorn really were fighting for the crown. At first, the Unicorn seemed to be winning, with victories at Prestonpans and Carlisle. By the time they reached Derby, his advisers forced Bonnie Prince Charlie to agree to retreat to Scotland, as none of the English support he had been promised had turned up and the Scots found themselves far too exposed. But by now, George II's son, the Duke of Cumberland, was hot on their heels and he caught up with them at Culloden. Ignoring the advice of his best commander, Lord George Murray, Charles chose to fight on flat, open, marshy ground where his forces were exposed to superior British firepower. But Charles commanded his army from a position from which he could not see what was happening. Hoping that Cumberland's army would attack first, he left his men exposed to Hanoverian artillery for twenty minutes before finally ordering an attack. The ill-thought-out battle was a disaster for the Jacobites: The lion beat the unicorn all around the town.

With that, the Jacobites were on the run and heavily dependent on the charity and cover of their remaining supporters, who helped as much as they could afford to: Some gave them white bread and some gave them brown, / Some gave them plum cake. But this was very dangerous for them to do as the Duke of Cumberland's troops committed so many atrocities in their relentless search for the fleeing rebels. He was later nicknamed 'the Butcher' in Scotland. (See also ELSIE MARLEY.)

The most loyal supporters went to desperate measures to get their prince out of town - that is, Scotland - both for his sake and for their own. Bonnie Prince Charlie's subsequent flight has become the stuff of legend, and is commemorated in the THE SKYE BOAT SONG. Assisted by loyal supporters, he evaded capture and left the country aboard a French frigate called, ironically enough, L'Heureux - 'The Fortunate One'. In the end, the Lion had won.