Napoleon’s youngest brother Jerome was an endless headache for him. Lacking ambition but loving luxury, he fled a stint in the French navy (after nearly sparking a war with England) for America to wait out his brother’s wrath.
It was in Baltimore that he met the woman who would become his first wife, socialite Elizabeth Patterson. Marrying her against both her father’s wishes and his brother’s permission created quite a conundrum for all involved. Worse, when the young couple, now pregnant, tried to return to Europe to smooth things over, Jerome abandoned Betsy in order to be brought back into the fold – and eventually made King of Westphalia.
Betsy gave birth to their son in London, the only harbor that would let her ship dock, and returned to America to build a fortune through canny real estate investing. She and her son spent decades splitting their time between America and Europe, where the Bonaparte women decided – finally – that they liked the headstrong Betsy, though she and Bo really wanted nothing to do with them. Perhaps that was the secret all along.
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Sources
Wondrous Beauty: Betsy Bonaparte, the Belle of Baltimore Who Married Napoleon’s Brother, by Carol Berkin (Amazon)
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (en.wikipedia.org)
Jerome Bonaparte (en.wikipedia.org)
Woman of Two Worlds (mdhistory.org)
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, Napoleon’s American Sister-in-Law (shannonselin.com)
Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon’s American Nephew (shannonselin.com)
Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon’s Scandalous Brother (shannonselin.com)
