.. for his adopted daughter Stephanie de Beauharnais with the Duke of Baden. Neither the Duke nor Stephanie was happy with the arrangement. He committed to continue living the life of a bachelor, and lived in separate houses on opposite sides of the country. (portrait: Stephanie in full French Regency …
.. the Tuilieres where she lived under the patronage and protection of Napoleon. She lived in grand and luxurious style, and was known for her fashion. (portrait: Stephanie in Regency garb)
.. She, like her 2nd cousins Eugene and Hortense, was adopted by Napoleon. Empress Josephine married Napoleon I as her 2nd marriage. Her husband’s brother had been executed in the Reifn of Terror, leaving Stephanie in need of protection. Napoleon, at his rise in power, ended up being the protector …
.. and the mother of Count Charles Leon, who was the only illegitimate child Napoleon I claimed as his. Napoleon’s sister Caroline “set up” Louise as his mistress, in order to prove that it was Empress Josephine’s fault that they had no heirs. With Charle’s birth, it sealed Josephine’s fate …
.. when it came to continuing the Bonaparte royal bloodline. Technically, his line continued through his nephews. We’ll pick that up again in a bit. He had only one illegitimate child that he claimed, Count Charles Leon. Charles had a daughter Charlotte born in 1866 and 3 sons with a …
… was not seen by Napoleon after his 4th birthday, because Napoleon was exiled to Elba. Napoleon II called himself “Franz” after 1814, and was the Duke of Reichstadt in 1818. In 1832, Franz became a career cadet in (his mother’s home country) the Austrian army and played no political …
.. with his 2nd wife, Marie Louise of Austria. Napoleon II (Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte) was the “heir apparent” to the throne. His father dedicated him that in 1815, but it was only a title, because at the time he was only 4 years old. (photo: Napoleon II)
… the children of his first wife, Josephine. Napoleon adopted step-son Eugene, and Eugene’s lineage included his many children who populated many countries. Hortense married Napoleon’s brother. (Featured: brother/sister Hortense and Eugene de Beauharnais, children of Empress Josephine and adopted by Napoleon 1st)(Below: Napoleon and Josephine)
… We are discussing the French royals because they were THE influence over American fashion for most of the period we depict. Napoleon I took power by force from the long line of Bourbon kings – the rule which ended with the beheading of Marie Antoinette. The Bonaparte family ruled …
We’ll be going through just a few more key figures.. mistresses and bastards.. and that makes our final connections to the royal families of England and Russia… and several you will most likely recognize.
