James Francis Edward Stuart, "the Old Pretender", dies in Rome on January 1, 1766 in his home, the Palazzo Muti, and is buried in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica in present-day Vatican City.

His burial is marked by the Monument to the Royal Stuarts.

His claimed reign had lasted for sixty-four years, three months and sixteen days, longer than any legitimate British monarch until Queen Elizabeth II's reign surpasses it on May 23, 2016.

Pope Clement XIII had recognized James as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland as "James III and VIII", but following James's death the Pope refuses to recognize the claim to the English throne of his eldest son Charles; instead, from January 14, 1766, he finally accepts the Hanoverian dynasty as the legitimate rulers of Britain and Ireland.

This decision leads to a gradual relaxation and reform of the anti-Catholic "Penal laws" in Britain and Ireland.

In 1792, the Papacy will specifically refer to George III as the "King of Great Britain and Ireland", which will elicit  a protest from James's second son Henry, who at that time will be the Jacobite claimant.