Editing Man in the Iron Mask (section)

===Son of Charles II===
In 1908, Monsignor [[Arthur Barnes (monsignor)|Arthur Barnes]] proposed that the prisoner was [[James de la Cloche]], the alleged illegitimate son of the reluctant Protestant Charles II of England, who would have been his father's secret intermediary with the Catholic court of France.{{sfn|Barnes|1908}} One of Charles's confirmed illegitimate sons, the [[James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth|Duke of Monmouth]], has also been proposed as the man in the mask. A Protestant, he led [[Monmouth Rebellion|a rebellion]] against his uncle, the Catholic [[James II of England|King James II]]. The rebellion failed and Monmouth was executed in 1685. However, in 1768, a writer named Saint-Foix claimed that another man was executed in his place and that Monmouth became the masked prisoner, it being in Louis XIV's interests to assist a fellow Catholic like James, who would not necessarily want to kill his own nephew. Saint-Foix's case was based on unsubstantiated rumours and allegations that Monmouth's execution was faked.{{sfn|Noone|1988}}