Everything about Pauline Bonaparte totally explained
Marie Paulette (Pauline) Bonaparte, Princesse Française, Princess and Duchess of Guastalla (
October 20,
1780-
June 9,
1825) was the younger and favourite sister of
Napoleon I of France.
Before Napoleon's rise to power
She was born as Paoletta Bonaparte in
Ajaccio,
Corsica. She was the sixth surviving child and second surviving daughter of
Carlo Buonaparte and
Letizia Ramolino.
She was a younger sister of
Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon I of France,
Lucien Bonaparte,
Elisa Bonaparte and
Louis Bonaparte. She was also an older sister of
Caroline Bonaparte and
Jérôme Bonaparte.
Her childhood was spent in her native Ajaccio. At the age of thirteen she was involved in the Buonapartes' night-time escape from their home, travelling with her mother and siblings to the
French mainland, making a mark on Napoleon's rise to power.
After Napoleon's rise to power
Pauline's numerous love affairs had become an embarrassment. When he caught the two of them having sex, Napoleon had Pauline married to
Charles Leclerc, one of his generals. She accompanied Leclerc to
Saint-Domingue (now
Haiti) in 1802 to remove the general
Toussaint Louverture from power.
Despite her brother's position, and the fact that her husband was fighting a war, Pauline continued to have affairs in Saint-Domingue, often with low-ranking soldiers and officers. Although she was disloyal, Pauline did attend her husband during his fatal sickness with
yellow fever, which killed him in November 1802.
Napoleon later had Pauline married to a Bonapartist member of the rich
Borghese family,
Camillo Borghese. After the wedding, Napoleon bought a large part of the
Borghese art collection at a discount for the
Louvre. During her marriage, Pauline posed for a partially nude sculpture as
Venus Victrix by
Antonio Canova which now resides at the
Galleria Borghese. The marriage was initially passionate but foundered on her affairs and eccentricities such as using ladies-in-waiting for footstools and African slaves to carry her to her bath. Camillo led a separate life, though she did gain the governorship of Piedmont for him from her brother.
After Napoleon's fall
In 1806, Napoleon made his sister sovereign Princess and Duchess of
Guastalla. However, she soon sold the Duchy to
Parma for six million francs, and keeping only the title of Princess of Guastalla. Pauline fell into temporary disfavor with her brother because of her hostility to
Empress Marie Louise, but when Napoleon's fortune failed, Pauline showed herself more loyal than any of his other sisters and brothers.
Upon Napoleon's fall, Pauline
liquidated all of her assets into cash, and moved to
Elba, using that money to better Napoleon's condition. Pauline was the only Bonaparte sibling to visit her brother during his exile at Elba.
After
Waterloo Pauline moved to
Rome, where she enjoyed the protection of
Pope Pius VII (who once was her brother's prisoner), as did her mother Letizia (then at a palace on the
Piazza Venezia) and other members of the Bonaparte family. Pauline lived in a villa near the
Porta Pia, that was called
Villa Paulina after her and decorated in the
Egyptomania style she favoured. Camillo moved to
Florence to distance himself from her and had a ten year relationship with a mistress, but even so Pauline persuaded the pope to persuade Camillo to return to her, only three months before her death from cancer.
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