A title and office[clarification needed] used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the Senate and was crowned Emperor of the French on 2 December 1804 at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, in Paris, with the Crown of Napoleon.[1]

The title of "Emperor of the French" was also supposed to demonstrate that Napoleon's coronation was not a restoration of the monarchy, but an introduction of a new political system: the French Empire. The title emphasized that the emperor governed over "the French people" (the nation) with their consent, did not rule over France (the state), and was an office under the French Republic similar to the previous office of First Consul. The old formula of "King of France" indicated that the king owned France as a personal possession. The new term indicated a constitutional monarchy.[2] The title was purposely created to preserve the appearance of the French Republic and to show that after the French Revolution, the feudal system was abandoned and a nation state was created, with equal citizens governed by their emperor. Emperor also harkened back to the Roman Republic title of Imperator, as a magistrate who exercised Imperium or command, esp. over an army. This emphasized Napoleon as Chief Magistrate and Commander-in-Chief elected by the citizens.

Taking the title "emperor" also emphasized that the will of the citizens of France was equal in sovereignty to anyone's, especially to what had been until this time the highest sovereignty in the Western world: the (Holy) Roman Emperor, who claimed continuity with the ancient Roman Emperors, and whose coronation by the Pope was used to claim authority by divine right.

It was only after 1 January 1809 that the state was officially referred to as the French Empire and not the French Republic.[3]

Napoleon's Arms

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Napoleon set up an elaborate system of heraldry based on offices held and seniority in government, but not on primogeneture.[4] · [5] The Bonapartes were an old Tuscan noble family that had moved to Corsica.[6] His father was granted a recognition of nobility by Louis XV.[7] When Napoleon became emperor he adopted on July 20, 1804 as his arms as Emperor the French Imperial Eagle that linked the office of Emperor of the French back to its Roman predecessor on blue (azure).[8] This eagle, along with the bees motif was repeated in the arms of his dynasty and the various high officials (see Armorial of the First French Empire and Héraldique napoléonienne for examples and references.).


Imperial Arms of Napoleon
Arms: Azure, an Eagle Or, head facing to the sinister, clutching in its talons a Thunderbolt Or.
Achievement of Napoleon
Arms and Achievement of Napoleon[9] · [10] · [11] · [12] · [13] · [14] · [15]  · [16]

Uniforms of Napoleon

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At the beginning of his career, Napoleon was a solider and wore the uniform of the French Revolutionary Army. In 1793 he was promoted to Général de brigade, in 1795 Général de division, and in 1796 he became commander in chief of the Army of Italy. In those capacities, he wore the uniform of a French Army general as promolgated by the regulations of January 1796. This was (as shown in the pictures below), a double breasted blue (woollen) coat with red collar, red cuffs with white flaps, gold oak-leaf embroidery on the the collar, cuffs, pickets and fron tand rear openings, and a red and white sash with gold trim.[17]. There does not seem at this point to be any differentiation between grades of general. Napoleon wore this in Italy, Egypt, and at the Battle of Marengo in 1800 (see the portrait below "Napoleon Crossing the Alps").

Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798, by Antoine-Jean Gros in 1810 "From the top of those pyramids, forty centuries are contemplating you."
Napoleon crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David painted 1805
Napoleon as Revolutionary General

When Napoleon became First Consul through a military coup d'etat on the 18 Brumaire, he aceded to the primary military and civil authority. The position was considered by the consitution of the Year VIII a civil one. He eschewed his general's uniform. The consuls had their official state uniforms of scarlet velvet from Lyon embroidered in gold. During his everyday work, Napoleon had started wearing the uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Consular Guard. They were Napoleon's personal guard.

Antoine-Jean Gros, c. 1802 in the civil uniform of First Counsul.
Napoleon in 1803 as First Consul in his habitual uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde impériale, orig the Consular Guard. They were Napoleon's personal guard.
Napoleon as First Counsul

Napoleon very rarely wore elaborate clothing, but euring his Coronation he had special robes made of a white velvet vest with gold embroidery and diamond buttons, a crimson velvet tunic and a short crimson coat with satin lining, a wreath of laurel on his brow.[18]: 54 . Before entering Notre Dame, Napoleon was vested in a long white satin tunic embroidered in gold thread and Josephine similarly wore a white satin empire-style dress embroidered in gold thread. During the coronation he was formally clothed in a heavy coronation mantle of crimson velvet lined with ermine; the velvet was covered with embroidered golden bees, drawn from the golden bees among the regalia that had been discovered in the Merovingian tomb of Childeric I, a symbol that looked beyond the Bourbon past and linked the new dynasty with the ancient Merovingians; the bee replaced the fleur-de-lis on imperial tapestries and garments. The mantle weighed at least eighty pounds and was supported by four dignitaries.[19]: 299 

Napoleon in his coronation robes 1804 by François Gérard in 1805.
Napoleon in ceremonial dress

As Emperor, in his daily work, Napoleon wore very simple but well made clothing of a colonel of his guard, a large but plain bicorne hat with an army cockade, and grey greatcoat.[20]. He designed elaborate costumes for his marshals, officers, and senior functionaries that formed the military aristocracy of his empire. [21]. Not only did this establish an immediately recognizable image for Napoleon, but the contrast between him and the rest of the court emphasized where the real power lay. The effect can be seen in the portrait of the Battle of Austerlitz below.

 
Napoleon at Austerlitz (2 December 1805)

Napoleon continued from his consular days to wear daily and on campaign the uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde Impériale (Vieille ) which had been his Consular Guard and provided Napoleon's personal guard.[22] [23]. He also wore on Sundays and special occasions (accounts differ) the uniform of a colonel of the grenadiers à pied de la Garde Vieille.[24] [25] [26]. On his uniform jacket he always wore the star (usually embroidered into the coat) and medal of the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour with the red sash under his uniform coat. After the establishment of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805) he also wore the medal of the Order of the Iron Crown.

Napoleon in his daily uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde Impériale Vieille 1809 by Robert Lefèvre. They were Napoleon's personal guard.
Napoléon Ier en uniforme de colonel des grenadiers à pied de la Garde Vieille, c.1812 by François Gérard depicting a younger Napoleon.
Napoleon in the uniform wearing the ribbon, star and medal of the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour and the medal of the Iron Crown on Italy.


 
Embroided insignia of the Legion of Honour, detail of Napoléon's uniform of colonel of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Imperial Guard

For warmth, Napoleon wore his famous calf length gray greatcoat. Sometimes he wore blue or green ones. in the winter, as in Russia, he wore a longer fur lined great coat.

 
Constitution an VIII et le Empire Francais


 
Imperial Standard of Napoléon III, 1873–1879

Current regiment that has the traditions of the Garde Imperial is the 94th Infantry Regiment (France).

House of Bonaparte

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House of Bonaparte
French imperial family
 
Coat of arms of Napoleon I
CountryFirst and Second French Empire
Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Spain
Kingdom of Holland
Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Westphalia
Principality of Elba
Principality of Andorra
Grand Duchy of Berg
Principality of Lucca and Piombino
Founded18 May 1804 (1804-05-18)[7][27]
FounderNapoleon Bonaparte
Current head
Final rulerNapoleon III
Titles
Style(s)Imperial Majesty (France)
Majesty (other Crowns)
DepositionFrance:
1814 (1st) (1814 (1st))
1815 (2nd) (1815 (2nd))
1870 (3rd) (1870 (3rd))
Italy:
1814 (1814)
Spain:
1813 (1813)
Westphalia:
1813 (1813)
Elba:
1815 (1815)
Cadet branches

The House of Bonaparte[a] is a former imperial and royal European dynasty of French and Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, the son of Corsican nobleman Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte (née Ramolino). Napoleon was a French military leader who rose to power during the French Revolution and who, in 1804, transformed the French First Republic into the First French Empire, five years after his coup d'état of November 1799 (18 Brumaire). Napoleon and the Grande Armée had to fight against every major European power (except for the ones he was allied with, including Denmark-Norway) and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories during the Napoleonic Wars. He installed members of his family on the thrones of client states, expanding the power of the dynasty.

The House of Bonaparte formed the Imperial House of France during the French Empire, together with some non-Bonaparte family members. In addition to holding the title of Emperor of the French, the Bonaparte dynasty held various other titles and territories during the Napoleonic Wars, including the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Kingdom of Holland, and the Kingdom of Naples. The dynasty held power for around a decade until the Napoleonic Wars began to take their toll. Making very powerful enemies, such as Austria, Britain, Russia, and Prussia, as well as royalist (particularly Bourbon) restorational movements in France, Spain, the Two Sicilies, and Sardinia, the dynasty eventually collapsed due to the final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and the restoration of former dynasties by the Congress of Vienna.

During the reign of Napoleon I, the Imperial Family consisted of the Emperor's immediate relations – his wife, son, siblings, and some other close relatives, namely his brother-in-law Joachim Murat, his uncle Joseph Fesch, and his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais.

Between 1852 and 1870, there was a Second French Empire, when a member of the Bonaparte dynasty again ruled France: Napoleon III, the youngest son of Louis Bonaparte. However, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the dynasty was again ousted from the Imperial Throne. Since that time, there has been a series of pretenders. Supporters of the Bonaparte family's claim to the throne of France are known as Bonapartists. Current head Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon has a Bourbon mother.

Italian origins

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The Bonaparte (originally Italian: Buonaparte) family were patricians in the Italian towns of Sarzana, San Miniato, and Florence. The name derives from Italian: buona ("good") and parte ("part" or "side"). In Italian, the phrase "buona parte" is used to identify a fraction of considerable, but undefined, size in a totum.

Gianfaldo Buonaparte was the first known Buonaparte at Sarzana around 1200. His descendant Giovanni Buonaparte in 1397 married Isabella Calandrini, a cousin of later cardinal Filippo Calandrini. Giovanni became mayor of Sarzana and was named commissioner of the Lunigiana by Giovanni Maria Visconti in 1408. His daughter, Agnella Berni, was the great-grandmother of Italian poet Francesco Berni and their great-grandson Francesco Buonaparte was an equestrian mercenary at the service of the Genoese Bank of Saint George. In 1490, Francesco Buonaparte went to the island of Corsica, which was controlled by the bank. In 1493, he married the daughter of Guido da Castelletto, representative of the Bank of Saint George in Ajaccio, Corsica. Most of their descendants during subsequent generations were members of the Ajaccio town council. Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, received a patent of nobility from the King of France in 1771.[7]

There also existed a Buonaparte family in Florence; however, its eventual relation with the Sarzana and San Miniato families is unknown. Jacopo Buonaparte of San Miniato was a friend and advisor to Medici Pope Clement VII. Jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the sack of Rome, which is one of the most important historical documents recounting that event.[28] Two of Jacopo's nephews, Pier Antonio Buonaparte and Giovanni Buonaparte, however, took part in the 1527 Medici rebellion, after which they were banished from Florence and later were restored by Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence. Jacopo's brother Benedetto Buonaparte maintained political neutrality.[29] The San Miniato branch extinguished with Jacopo in 1550. The last member of the Florence family was a canon named Gregorio Bonaparte, who died in 1803, leaving Napoleon as heir.[30]

A Buonaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in San Miniato. A second tomb, the Chapelle Impériale, was built by Napoleon III in Ajaccio 1857.

Imperial House of France

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Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801), by Jacques-Louis David
 
File:Paul Delaroche - Napoleon Crossing the Alps
 
Imperial coat of arms
 
"The Four Napoleons", 1858 propaganda image depicting Napoleon I, Napoleon II, Napoleon III, and Louis-Napoléon

In 1793 Corsica formally seceded from France and sought protection from the British government, prompting Pasquale Paoli to compel the Bonapartes to relocate to the mainland. Napoleon I is the most prominent name associated with the Bonaparte family because he conquered much of Europe during the early 19th century. Due to his indisputable popularity in France both among the people and in the army, he staged the Coup of 18 Brumaire and overthrew the Directory with the help of his brother Lucien Bonaparte, president of the Council of Five Hundred. Napoleon then oversaw the creation of a new Constitution that made him the First Consul of France on 10 November 1799. On 2 December 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French and ruled from 1804 to 1814, and again in 1815 during the Hundred Days after his return from Elba.

Following his conquest of most of Western Europe, Napoleon I made his elder brother Joseph first King of Naples and then of Spain, his younger brother Louis King of Holland (subsequently forcing his abdication in 1810 after his failure to subordinate Dutch interests to those of France), and his youngest brother Jérôme as King of Westphalia, a short-lived realm created from several states of northwestern Germany.

Napoleon's son Napoléon François Charles Joseph was made King of Rome and was later styled as Napoleon II by loyalists of the dynasty, though he only ruled for two weeks after his father's abdication.

Louis-Napoléon, son of Louis, was President of France and then Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870, reigning as Napoleon III. His son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial, died fighting the Zulus in Natal, today the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. With his death, the family lost much of its remaining political appeal, though claimants continue to assert their right to the imperial title. A political movement for Corsican independence surfaced in the 1990s which included a Bonapartist restoration in its programme.[citation needed]

Crowns held by the family

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Emperors of the French

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Kings of Holland

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King of Naples

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King of Westphalia

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King of Spain

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Grand Duchess of Tuscany

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Heads of the House of Bonaparte (since 1852)

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Family tree

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Family tree list

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Note: Bold for common names
Carlo-Maria (Ajaccio, 1746–Montpellier, 1785) married Maria Letizia Ramolino (Ajaccio, 1750–Rome, 1836) in 1764. He was a minor official in the local courts. They had eight children:

  1. Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte (Corte, 1768–Florence, 1844), King of Naples, then King of Spain, married Julie Clary[group 1]
    1. Julie Joséphine Bonaparte (1796–1796)
    2. Zénaïde Laetitia Julie Bonaparte (1801–1854)
    3. Charlotte Napoléone Bonaparte (1802–1839)
  2. Napoléon (I) Bonaparte (1769–1821) Emperor of the French: Married (i) Joséphine de Beauharnais; no issue. Adopted Eugène and Hortense de Beauharnais. Married (ii) Marie Louise of Austria;
    1. Napoléon (II) François Joseph Charles Bonaparte (1811–1832), Prince Imperial, King of Rome, Prince of Parma, son of Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria (of the Habsburg dynasty), Empress consort, then Duchess of Parma
  3. Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840) Roman Prince of Canino and Musignano
    1. 3 daughters with first wife, Christine Boyer:
      1. Charlotte Philistine Bonaparte (1795–1865), married Prince Mario Gabrielli
      2. Victoire Gertrude Bonaparte (1797–1797)
      3. Christine Charlotte Alexandrine Egypta Bonaparte (1798–1847), married Count Arvid Posse, then married Lord Dudley Stuart
    2. 10 children with second wife, Alexandrine de Bleschamp:
      1. Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte (1803–1857), ornithologist and politician, married Princess Zénaïde Bonaparte (1801–1854)
        1. Joseph Lucien Charles Napoléon Bonaparte (1824–1865)
        2. Alexandrine Gertrude Zénaïde Bonaparte (1826–1828)
        3. Lucien Louis Joseph Napoléon (Cardinal) Bonaparte (1828–1895)
        4. Julie Charlotte Pauline Zénaïde Laetitia Désirée Bartholomée Bonaparte (1830–1900)
        5. Charlotte Honorine Joséphine Pauline Bonaparte (1832–1901)
        6. Léonie Stéphanie Elise Bonaparte (1833–1839)
        7. Marie Désirée Eugénie Joséphine Philomène Bonaparte (1835–1890)
        8. Augusta Amélie Maximilienne Jacqueline Bonaparte (1836–1900)
        9. Napoléon Charles Grégoire Jacques Philippe Bonaparte (1839–1899)
          1. Zénaïde Victoire Eugénie Bonaparte (1860–1862)
          2. Marie Léonie Eugénie Mathilde Jeanne Julie Zénaïde Bonaparte (1870–1947)
          3. Eugénie Laetitia Barbe Caroline Lucienne Marie Jeanne Bonaparte (1872–1949)
        10. Bathilde Aloïse Léonie Bonaparte (1840–1861)
        11. Albertine Marie Thérèse Bonaparte (1842–1842)
        12. Charles Albert Edmond Bonaparte (1843–1847)
      2. Laetitia Christine Bonaparte (1804–1871)
      3. Joseph Lucien Bonaparte (1806–1807)
      4. Jeanne Adélaïde Bonaparte (1807–1829)
      5. Paul Marie Bonaparte (1808–1827)
      6. Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813–1891)
      7. Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte (1815–1881), married Éléonore-Justine Ruflin
        1. Roland Bonaparte (1858–1924), married Marie-Félix Blanc
          1. Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882–1962), married Prince George of Greece
        2. Princess Jeanne Bonaparte (1861–1910)
      8. Antoine Lucien Bonaparte (1816–1877)
      9. Alexandrine Marie Bonaparte (1818–1874)
      10. Constance Marie Bonaparte (1823–1876)
  4. Maria-Anna Elisa Bonaparte (1777–1820), Grand-Duchess of Tuscany, married Felice Baciocchi, Prince of Lucca
    1. Marie-Laetitia Bonaparte Baciocchi
  5. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1778–1846), King of Holland, married Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepdaughter
    1. Napoléon Charles Bonaparte (1802–1807)
    2. Napoléon Louis Bonaparte (1804–1831)
    3. Charles Louis Napoléon (III) Bonaparte (1808–1873) Emperor of the French, married Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick
      1. Napoléon Eugène Louis John Joseph Bonaparte, Prince Imperial (1856–1879)
  6. Maria Paola or Marie Pauline Bonaparte (1780–1825) Princess and Duchess of Guastalla, married in 1797 to French General Charles Leclerc and later married Camillo Borghese, 6th Prince of Sulmona.
  7. Maria Annunziata Caroline Bonaparte (1782–1839) married Joachim Murat, Marshal of the Empire, Grand Duke of Berg, then King of Naples
    1. Prince Achille Murat (1801–1847), married Catherine Willis Gray (1803–1867), great-grandniece of George Washington
    2. Prince Napoléon Lucien Charles Murat (1803–1878), married Caroline Georgina Fraser (1810–1879)
      1. 5 Children, including:
        1. Joachim Joseph Napoléon Murat, 4th Prince Murat (1834–1901), Major-General of the French Army, married firstly Malcy Louise Caroline Berthier de Wagram (1832–1884) and had issue, and secondly Lydia Hervey, without issue
        2. Prince Louis Napoléon Murat (1851–1912), married in Odesa, Eudoxia Mikhailovna Somova (1850–1924), had issue now extinct in male line
  8. Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte (1784–1860), King of Westphalia
    1. 1 child from first marriage, to Betsy Patterson of Baltimore:
      1. Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte (1805–1870), married Susan May Williams and had 2 sons:
        1. Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II (1830–1893), married Caroline Le Roy Appleton Edgar
          1. Louise-Eugénie Bonaparte (1873–1923), married in 1896 Count Adam Carl von Moltke-Huitfeld (1864–1944); numerous descendants
          2. Jerome Napoléon Charles Bonaparte III (1878–1945), married Blanche Pierce Stenbeigh, no issue
        2. Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851–1921), United States Secretary of the Navy and United States Attorney General, married Ellen Channing Day, no issue
    2. 3 children from second marriage, to Princess Catharina of Württemberg:
      1. Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte I (1814–1847), unmarried and childless
      2. Mathilde Laetitia Wilhelmine Bonaparte (1820–1904), married Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato: no issue
      3. Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (1822–1891), called Plon-Plon, married Princess Marie Clothilde of Savoy daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
        1. Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (1862–1926), married Princess Clémentine of Belgium
          1. Marie Clotilde Eugénie Alberte Laetitia Geneviève Bonaparte (1912–1996), married Count Serge de Witt
          2. Louis Jérôme Victor Emmanuel Léopold Marie Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (1914–1997), married Alix de Foresta
            1. Charles Marie Jérôme Victor Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (born 1950)
              1. Two children from first marriage, to Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies:
                1. Caroline Marie Constance Bonaparte (Princess Caroline Napoléon) (born 1980)
                2. Jean-Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (born 1986), married Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg
                  1. Louis Charles Riprand Victor Jérôme Marie Napoléon (born 2022)
              2. 1 child and 1 adopted child from second marriage, to Jeanne-Françoise Valliccioni:
                1. Sophie Catherine Bonaparte (born 1992)
                2. Anh Laëtitia Bonaparte (born 1998, adopted)
            2. Catherine Elisabeth Albérique Marie Bonaparte (born 1950)
            3. Laure Clémentine Geneviève Bonaparte (born 1952)
            4. Jérôme Xavier Marie Joseph Victor Bonaparte (Prince Jérôme Napoléon) (born 1957), married in 2013 with Licia Innocenti
        2. Napoléon Louis Joseph Jérôme Bonaparte (1864–1932) Russian general, unmarried and childless
        3. Marie Laetitia Eugénie Catherine Adélaïde Bonaparte (1866–1926), married Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta

Family tree of Bonaparte

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Carlo Buonaparte
1746–1785
Letizia Ramolino
1750–1836
34125678
Lucien Bonaparte
1775–1840
m.2 Alexandrine de Bleschamp
Elisa Bonaparte
1777–1820
m. Félix Baciocchi
Joseph Bonaparte
1768–1844
m. Julie Clary
Marie Louise of Austria
1791–1847
Napoléon I
1769–1821
Joséphine de Beauharnais
1763–1814
Alexandre de Beauharnais
1760–1794
Pauline Bonaparte
1780–1825
m.1 Charles Leclerc
m.2 Camillo Borghese
Caroline Bonaparte
1782–1839
m. Joachim Murat
Catharina of Württemberg
1783–1835
Jérôme Bonaparte
1784–1860
Betsy Patterson
1785–1879
4 childrenNapoléon II
1811–1832
Eugène de Beauharnais
1781–1824
m. Augusta of Bavaria
Hortense de Beauharnais
1783–1837
Louis Bonaparte
1778–1846
Achille Murat
1801–1847
m. Catherine Willis Gray
Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte
1814–1847
Mathilde Bonaparte
1820–1904
m. Anatoly Demidov, Prince of San Donato
Prince Napoléon Bonaparte
1822–1891
m. Maria Clotilde of Savoy
Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte
1805–1870
m. Susan May Williams
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
1803–1857
Zénaïde Bonaparte
1801–1854
Julie Joséphine Bonaparte
1796
Charlotte Bonaparte
1802–1839
Napoléon Louis Bonaparte
1804–1831
Napoléon Charles Bonaparte
1802–1807
Napoléon III
1808–1873
m.Eugénie de Montijo
Napoléon V Victor
1862–1926
m. Clémentine of Belgium
Napoléon Louis Joseph Jérôme Bonaparte
1864–1932
Maria Letizia Bonaparte
1866–1926
m. Amadeo of Savoy
Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II
1830–1893
m. Caroline Edgar
Charles Bonaparte
1851–1921
m. Ellen Channing Day
Joseph Lucien Bonaparte
1824–1865
Lucien Cardinal Bonaparte
1828–1895
Napoléon Charles Bonaparte
1839–1899
10 othersNapoléon IV Eugène
1856–1879
Marie Clotilde Bonaparte
1912–1996
Napoléon VI Louis
1914–1997
m. Alix de Foresta
Zénaïde Bonaparte
1860–1862
Mary Bonaparte
1870–1947
Eugénie Bonaparte
1872–1949
Napoléon VII Charles
b. 1950
Catherine Elisabeth Bonaparte
b. 1950
Laure Clémentine Bonaparte
b. 1952
Jérôme Xavier Bonaparte
b. 1957
Caroline Bonaparte
b. 1980
Jean-Christophe Napoléon
b. 1986
Sophie Cathérine Bonaparte
b. 1992
Louis Charles Bonaparte
b. 2022

Male-line family tree

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Bonaparte coat of arms

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The arms of the Bonaparte family were: Gules two bends sinister between two mullets or. In 1804, Napoleon I changed the arms to Azure an imperial eagle or. The change applied to all members of his family except for his brother Lucien and his nephew, the son from Jérôme's first marriage.

DNA research

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According to studies by G. Lucotte and his coauthors based on DNA research since 2011, Napoleon Bonaparte belonged to Y-DNA (direct male ancestry) haplogroup E1b1b1c1* (E-M34*). This 15000-year-old haplogroup has its highest concentration in Ethiopia and in the Near East (Jordan, Yemen). According to the authors of the study, "Probably Napoléon also knew his remote oriental patrilineal origins, because Francesco Buonaparte (the Giovanni son), who was a mercenary under the orders of the Genoa Republic in Ajaccio in 1490, was nicknamed The Maure of Sarzane." The latest study identifies the common Bonaparte DNA markers from Carlo (Charles) Bonaparte to 3 living descendants.[31][32]

Lucotte et al. published in October 2013 the extended Y-STR of Napoleon I based on descendant testing, and the descendants were E-M34, just like the emperor's beard hair tested a year before. The persons tested were the patrilineal descendants of Jérome Bonaparte, one of Napoleon's brothers, and of Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, Napoleon's illegitimate son with Marie Walewska. These three tests all yielded the same Y-STR haplotype (109 markers) confirming with 100% certainty that the first Emperor of the French belonged to the M34 branch of haplogroup E1b1b.

STR strongly suggests that the Bonaparte belong to the Y58897 branch, which means that the ancestor 3000 years ago or a bit more lived in Anatolia, but all relatives in the database with a common ancestor with over 1000 years are found in their own the Massa - La Spezia small area in Italy.[33][34][35] There are at the moment no relatives in the database older than that, which means they are very rare in Europe.

Living members

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Charles, Prince Napoléon (born 1950, great-great-grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte by his second marriage), and his son Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon (born 1986 and appointed heir in the will of his grandfather Louis, Prince Napoléon) currently dispute the headship of the Bonaparte family.[36] The only other male members of the family are Charles's recently married (2013) brother, Prince Jérôme Napoléon (born 1957) and Jean-Christophe's son, Prince Louis Napoléon (born 2022). There are no other legitimate descendants in the male line from Napoleon I or from his brothers.

There are, however, numerous descendants of Napoleon's illegitimate, unacknowledged son, Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski (1810–1868), born from Napoleon I's union with Marie, Countess Walewski. A descendant of Napoleon's sister Caroline Bonaparte was actor René Auberjonois. Recent DNA-matches with living descendants of Jérôme and Count Walewski have confirmed the existence of descendants of Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, namely the Clovis family.[32]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Julie was sister of Napoleon's childhood sweetheart, Désirée, who was to become the wife of General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (later Charles XIV, King of Sweden).
  1. ^ French: Maison Bonaparte
    Italian and Corsican: Casa di Buonaparte

References

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  1. ^ Thierry, Lentz. "The Proclamation of Empire by the Sénat Conservateur". napoleon.org. Fondation Napoléon. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  2. ^ Philip Dwyer, Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power (2013) p 129
  3. ^ "Decree upon the Term, French Republic". napoleon-series.org.
  4. ^ François R. Velde. Napoleonic Heraldry
  5. ^ Révérend, A. (1894–97). Armorial du Premier Empire. Paris.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Passerini, Luigi (1856). Della origine della famiglia Bonaparte, in Arch. stor. ital., n.s.,. Vol. III & IV. pp. 29-65 (Vol III) & 43-83 (vol IV).
  7. ^ a b c Raymond Horricks (1995). Napoleon's Elites. Transaction Publishers. p. 11. ISBN 9781412829281.
  8. ^ Boureau, Alain (1985). "Chp.VI "Un signe de ralliement : l'aigle étatique des États-Unis et de l'Empire français (1776-1804) L'aigle d'Amérique L'aigle de l'Empire français"". L'aigle : chronique politique d'un emblème. Paris: Éditions du Cerf. p. 204.
  9. ^ Ottfried Neubecker & J P Brooke-Little (1980). Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meanings. The Book Service Ltd. p. 98. ISBN 978-0354044936.
  10. ^ Jirí Louda & Michael MacLagan (1999). Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. Little, Brown. p. 125. ISBN 978-1856054690.
  11. ^ Normand, Charles (1804). Armes et sceau de l'Empire français. Paris. *The Arms depicts a shield with a golden eagle in front of a blue background, within its talons clutching a thunderbolt. The shield is surrounded by Napoleon's red Imperial mantle, filled with golden bees. The shield is topped by a the Imperial crown, which sits atop a golden Imperial helmet. Surrounding the shield is the the chain and pendant of the Legion d'honneur. Crossed behind the shield are the Scepters of justice and mercy.
  12. ^ ARMORIAL DU PREMIER EMPIRE, Par Philippe LAMARQUE, Index armorum : Michel POPOFF, Iconographie : Gregor JAKUBOWSKI – BARTHEL de WEYDENTHAL, Éditions du Gui, page 21
  13. ^ Symbolique des armes impériales sur www.napoleon.org
  14. ^ Bulletin des lois - France - Google Livres , Publié par Imprimerie impériale, 1809
  15. ^ Roret, Nicolas (1854). Nouveau manuel complet du blason ou code héraldique, archéologique et historique; avec un armorial de l'Empire, une généalogie de la dynastie impériale des Bonaparte jusqu'à nos jours, etc... p. 340. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  16. ^ Boureau, Alain (1985). L'aigle : chronique politique d'un emblème. Paris: Éditions du Cerf.
  17. ^ Haythornthwaite, Philip (1993). Napoleon’s Campaigns in Italy. Oxford. p. 38.
  18. ^ Junot, Laure, duchesse d'Abrantès (1836). Memoirs of Napoleon, his court and family. Vol. 2. R. Bentley. Retrieved 1 December 2011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Wairy, Louis Constant (1895). Recollections of the private life of Napoleon. Vol. 1. The Merriam company. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  20. ^ Durant, Will and Ariel (1975). The Age of Napoleon. New York City: Simon and Shuster. p. 237.
  21. ^ Mansel, Philip (2005). Dressed to Rule: Royal and Court Costume from Louis XIV to Elizabeth II. New Haven, CT: Yale. p. 81.
  22. ^ Selin, Shannon. "What did Napoleon like to wear?". Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  23. ^ Masson, Frédéric (1894). Napoleon at Home: The Daily Life of the Emperor at the Tuileries. Vol. 1. Translated by James E. Matthew. London. p. 116.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  24. ^ Masson, Frédéric (1894). Napoleon at Home: The Daily Life of the Emperor at the Tuileries. Vol. 1. Translated by James E. Matthew. London. p. 116.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ^ Samoyalt-Verlet, Colombe (1989). Katell Le Bourhis (ed.). The Emperor’s Wardrobe in The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789-1815. New York. p. 204. Constant, the first valet of the emperor's household, was in the best position to know, and he reported in his memoirs that most mornings he helped the emperor into his green cavalry uniform. According to Baron Fain, however, Napoleon wore his grenadier uniform…when in Paris and his cavalry uniform when traveling on campaign. Marchand and Meneval give another view, claiming that the emperor wore the cavalry uniform on weekdays and the grenadier uniform on Sundays. Evidence in the portraits of the era are just as confusing as these written reports; they depict him in either uniform whether at war or in peacetime. Between November 1804 and June 1815, the account ledgers of Chevallier, who was the emperor's tailor until December 1812, and Lejeune, who succeeded Chevallier, mention thirty-nine green cavalry uniforms. The ledgers also reveal that the cavalry uniforms were mostly delivered at the beginning of military campaigns, again leading to the conclusion that Napoleon chose this as his wartime attire. It is hardly surprising that he would select the cavalry uniform when he knew he was going to be spending a great deal of time on horseback and would prefer the grenadier uniform at other times. In any event, the regulations of 1811 specify that delivery of the uniforms would be alternated: grenadier uniforms on January 1 and July 1 and cavalry uniforms on April 1 and October 1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  26. ^ Marchand, Louis-Joseph (1998). In Napoleon’s Shadow. San Francisco. p. 87-88. According to Napoleon's first valet, Louis-Joseph Marchand: The Emperor was consistent in the dress he had adopted: a three-cornered hat, the uniform of the guard's mounted chasseurs (that of the grenadiers was for Sundays in Paris), riding boots, or silk stockings with buckled shoes.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  27. ^ Frédéric T. Briffault (1846). The Prisoner of Ham: Authentic Details of the Captivity and Escape of Prince Napoleon Louis. T.C. Newby. p. 344. carlo maria buonaparte nobility 1771.
  28. ^ Jacopo Bonaparte: Sac de Rome. Écrit EN 1527 par Jacques Bonaparte. Témoin oculaire, hrsgg. by Bonaparte, Napoléon Louis, Florenz 1850
  29. ^ Drake, Joshua F. (October 2005). "The partbooks of a Florentine ex-patriate: new light on Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Ms. Magl. XIX 164–7". Early Music. 33 (4): 639–646. doi:10.1093/em/cah154. S2CID 191585911.
  30. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard (1869). Vicissitudes of Families. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dye.
  31. ^ Lucotte, Gerard; Thomasset, Thierry; Hrechdakian, Peter (2011). "Haplogroup of the Y Chromosome of Napoléon the First". Journal of Molecular Biology Research. 1 (1). doi:10.5539/jmbr.v1n1p12.
  32. ^ a b Lucotte, Gerard; Hrechdakian, Peter (2015). "New Advances Reconstructing the Y Chromosome Haplotype of Napoleon the First Based on Three of his Living Descendants". Journal of Molecular Biology Research. 5 (1): 1. doi:10.5539/jmbr.v5n1p1.
  33. ^ "Известные представители гаплогруппы R1b".
  34. ^ "E-Y58897 YTree".
  35. ^ "The Napoleon DNA project".
  36. ^ Herbert, Susannah (12 March 1997). "Father and son in battle for the Napoléonic succession". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2003. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
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House of Bonaparte
Vacant
Title last held by
House of Bourbon
as King of France
Ruling House of the French Empire
1804–1814
Succeeded byas King of France
Vacant
Title last held by
House of Orléans
as King of the French
Ruling House of the French Empire
1852–1870
Empire Abolished
Third French Republic Declared
Preceded byas Nominal King of Italy Ruling House of the Kingdom of Italy
1805–1814
Succeeded byas King of Lombardy–Venetia
Preceded byas Kings of Spain and Naples Ruling House of the Kingdom of Naples
1806–1808
Succeeded by
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Spain
1808–1813
Succeeded by
Preceded by
New Creation
Succeeded the Batavian Republic
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Holland
1806–1810
Kingdom Abolished
Part of the French Empire
Kingdom of the Netherlands created in 1815
Preceded by
New Creation
Formed from the territories ceded by Prussia in Peace of Tilsit
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Westphalia
1807–1813
Kingdom Abolished
Dissolved after Battle of Leipzig
Status quo of 1806 restored