Highlands in lather over Cumberland soap statue

Published on 08/07/2012 00:00

“BUTCHER” Cumberland, the Hanoverian leader who ordered the slaughter of the Jacobites at Culloden, is to become a soap star.

A life-size statue of the notorious Duke of Cumberland on horseback is to be erected in London’s Cavendish Square made entirely out of soap.

The effigy of the man, who defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite army in brutal fashion during the last battle fought on British soil, will be built this month on the exact spot where a previous statue of him once stood.

The original statue was removed in the 19th century because of the revulsion over the atrocities committed by his Hanoverian army in the aftermath of Culloden.

Although it will eventually melt away, the plan for the statute has been met with distaste in the Highlands where Cumberland’s atrocities are still remembered.