Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte
Encyclopedia
Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, Prince Français, Count of Meudon, Count of Moncalieri ad personam, titular 3rd Prince of Montfort (commonly known as Prince Napoléon and occasionally as Prince Jerome Napoléon; 9 September 1822 – 17 March 1891) was the second son of Jérôme Bonaparte
, king of Westphalia, by his wife Catherine, princess of Württemberg
. He soon rendered himself popular by playing on his family ties to Napoleon I. After the French revolution of 1848 he was elected to the National Assembly
as a representative of Corsica.
, Austria (today Italy), and known as Prince Napoléon or by the sobriquet
of "Plon-Plon", he was a close advisor to his first cousin, Napoleon III of France
, and in particular was seen as a leading advocate of French intervention in Italy on behalf of Camillo di Cavour and the Italian nationalists.
An anti-clerical
liberal
, he led that faction at court and tried to influence the Emperor to anti-clerical policies, against the contrary influence of the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugenie, a devout Catholic and a conservative, and the patroness of those who wanted French troops to protect the Pope's sovereignty in Rome. The Emperor was to navigate between the two influences throughout his reign.
When his cousin became President in 1848, Napoleon was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain. He later served in a military capacity as general of a division in the Crimean War
, as Governor of Algeria, and as a corps commander in the French Army of Italy
in 1859. His curious nickname (Plon-Plon) derives from his pronunciation of his name when he was a child, while the nickname "Craint-Plomb", "Afraid-of-Lead" was given to him by the army due to his absence from the Battle of Solferino
.
As part of his cousin's policy of alliance with Piedmont-Sardinia, in 1859 Prince Napoleon married Marie Clotilde
, daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia
.
When Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
, died in 1879, Prince Napoleon became the genealogically most senior member of the Bonaparte family, but the Prince Imperial's will excluded him from the succession, nominating Prince Napoleon's son Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte
as the new head of the family. No doubt in this decision the Prince Imperial had been influenced by his cousin's hostile attitude at his birth. As a result Prince Napoleon and his son quarrelled for the remainder of Prince Napoleon's life. Napoléon died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 69. He had two more children: Napoléon Louis Joseph Jérôme (1864–1932), governor of Erivan who died unmarried and without issue, and Marie Laetitia Eugénie Catherine Adélaïde
(1866–1926), second wife of Amadeo I of Spain
.
His grandson Louis Bonaparte (Brussels
, 1914–1997) was a pretender of Bonaparte
dynasty, and Louis's son, prince Charles Marie Jérôme Victor (born 1950), is the current head of the family. This Charles Napoleon has a son Jean-Christophe (born 1986) and a brother, Jérôme (born 1957), unmarried. There are no remaining legitimate descendants in male line from any other of Napoleon's brothers. There are, however, a substantial number of illegitimate descendants of Napoleon I himself, scions of his son Count Colonna-Walewski with Marie, Countess Walewski
.
Jérôme Bonaparte
Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia...
, king of Westphalia, by his wife Catherine, princess of Württemberg
Catharina of Württemberg
Princess Catharina Frederica of Württemberg was the second wife of Jérôme Bonaparte.-Family:Catharina was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia to the later King Frederick I of Württemberg and Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel...
. He soon rendered himself popular by playing on his family ties to Napoleon I. After the French revolution of 1848 he was elected to the National Assembly
National Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
as a representative of Corsica.
Biography
Born at TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Austria (today Italy), and known as Prince Napoléon or by the sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
of "Plon-Plon", he was a close advisor to his first cousin, Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
, and in particular was seen as a leading advocate of French intervention in Italy on behalf of Camillo di Cavour and the Italian nationalists.
An anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...
liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, he led that faction at court and tried to influence the Emperor to anti-clerical policies, against the contrary influence of the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugenie, a devout Catholic and a conservative, and the patroness of those who wanted French troops to protect the Pope's sovereignty in Rome. The Emperor was to navigate between the two influences throughout his reign.
When his cousin became President in 1848, Napoleon was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain. He later served in a military capacity as general of a division in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, as Governor of Algeria, and as a corps commander in the French Army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
in 1859. His curious nickname (Plon-Plon) derives from his pronunciation of his name when he was a child, while the nickname "Craint-Plomb", "Afraid-of-Lead" was given to him by the army due to his absence from the Battle of Solferino
Battle of Solferino
The Battle of Solferino, , was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I; it was the last major battle in world...
.
As part of his cousin's policy of alliance with Piedmont-Sardinia, in 1859 Prince Napoleon married Marie Clotilde
Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy
Maria Clotilde of Savoy was born in Turin to Vittorio Emanuele II, later King of Italy and his first wife Adelaide of Austria...
, daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
.
When Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
Napoléon, Prince Imperial, , Prince Imperial, Fils de France, was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo...
, died in 1879, Prince Napoleon became the genealogically most senior member of the Bonaparte family, but the Prince Imperial's will excluded him from the succession, nominating Prince Napoleon's son Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte
Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte
Victor, Prince Napoléon, titular 4th Prince of Montfort was the Bonapartist pretender to the French throne from 1879 until his death in 1926...
as the new head of the family. No doubt in this decision the Prince Imperial had been influenced by his cousin's hostile attitude at his birth. As a result Prince Napoleon and his son quarrelled for the remainder of Prince Napoleon's life. Napoléon died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 69. He had two more children: Napoléon Louis Joseph Jérôme (1864–1932), governor of Erivan who died unmarried and without issue, and Marie Laetitia Eugénie Catherine Adélaïde
Maria Letizia Bonaparte
Maria Letizia Bonaparte was one of three children born to Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. She married Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, the former king of Spain in 1888. Maria Letizia became the Duchess of Aosta, a title of Amadeus' he held before and after his kingship...
(1866–1926), second wife of Amadeo I of Spain
Amadeo I of Spain
Amadeo I was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy...
.
His grandson Louis Bonaparte (Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, 1914–1997) was a pretender of Bonaparte
Bonaparte
The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804, a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d'état...
dynasty, and Louis's son, prince Charles Marie Jérôme Victor (born 1950), is the current head of the family. This Charles Napoleon has a son Jean-Christophe (born 1986) and a brother, Jérôme (born 1957), unmarried. There are no remaining legitimate descendants in male line from any other of Napoleon's brothers. There are, however, a substantial number of illegitimate descendants of Napoleon I himself, scions of his son Count Colonna-Walewski with Marie, Countess Walewski
Marie, Countess Walewski
Maria Countess Walewska was a Polish noblewoman and a mistress of Emperor Napoleon. In her later years she married count Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, an influential Napoleonic officer....
.
Issue
He and Maria Clotilde had three children:| Name | |Death | Princess Clémentine of Belgium Princess Clementine of Belgium align="right"|Clementine of Belgium was a member of the Belgian Royal Family and the wife of Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France.-Early life:Princess Clémentine was born at the Royal Castle of Laeken in... , a daughter of Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free... . | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louis Bonaparte | 1864 | 1932 | |
| Maria Letizia Bonaparte Maria Letizia Bonaparte Maria Letizia Bonaparte was one of three children born to Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. She married Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, the former king of Spain in 1888. Maria Letizia became the Duchess of Aosta, a title of Amadeus' he held before and after his kingship... |
1866 | 1926 | who in 1888 became the second wife of her uncle Amedeo Amadeo I of Spain Amadeo I was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy... (1845–1890), Duke of Aosta Duke of Aosta In the mid-13th century the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II made the County of Aosta a duchy; its arms were carried in the Savoyard coat-of-arms until the unification of Italy in 1870. The region remained part of Savoy lands, with the exception of a French occupation, 1539—1563... , and from 1870 until 1873 King of Spain. |