… Eugene de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepson, was a Colonel in Italy at age 22, and a general by 24. He led the Italian army in the 1812 Russian campaign, and was the Viceroy of Italy. He married Augusta Amalia of Bavaria. Of his most notable accomplishments, however, was having 7 …
… at first because it was an arranged marriage, but they soon fell in love and had 7 children. 6 of those would become influential world leaders (next…). (Eugene was Napoleon Ist’s step-son) (portrait: The lovely Augusta Amalia’s equivalent of an engagement portrait in 1806)
… who was the son of Empress Josephine, Napoleon 1st’s 1st wife. Napoleon matched Eugene in a political marriage with Princess Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia of Bavaria. (remember all these names as they’ll show up through the family tree for centuries to come). Augusta (using the name “Amalia” often in …
…Eugene de Beauharnais was Josephine’s other child by a previous marriage, Hortense’s brother, & the step-son of Napoleon I. His father had been guiotined in the Reign of Terror. In 1797 & at age 15, with the country still in unrest, Eugene asked for his father’s sword. Napoleon was so …
… was made King of Holland 1806-1810, after which Napoleon stripped him of his title because he felt he was doing a terrible job. Louis was 24 when he married 19 year old Hortense, and they had a “difficult” marriage. They had a son who died in 1807 as a …
Napoleon was very uncomfortable with Hortense, a strong & politically charged woman, hanging around Versailles, so he arranged a marriage for her with his brother, Louis Bonaparte. (portraits featured & below: Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, the King of Holland, husband of Hortense)
Napoleon’s first wife, Josephine, was sent out of the country after the divorce, but her daughter from a previous marriage, Hortense Eugenie de Beauharnais remained. (portrait: Hortense, Josephine’s daughter in about 1805, the time of Napoleon & Josephine’s coronation)
FYI: Here’s a picture of Josephine’s coral tiara that sold in 2012 for $350,000,ooo. (The one she’s wearing.. the other ones were just “daily wear”).
Continuing review of names, faces, and style.. Napoleon’s little sister Caroline, convinced him to divorce his first wife Josephine, in favor of bringing in Marie Louise. As you can see, they all liked coral tiaras. Perhaps Napoleon gave Josephine’s tiara to Marie Louise? (Portraits 1808-1810: left – Caroline (nee Bonaparte) …
The Bonaparte family of France continues to influence politics & fashion worldwide. We need to sort out whom is whom, because there were many with same or similar names through the generations. We’ve been discussing the ones from the first Napoleonic era, and we’re going to review them again so …
