It never hurts to have a hype man, and Napoleon’s younger brother Lucien just happened to be a talented writer and orator. One could even say he was his brother’s propagandist and co-conspirator in a ballot stuffing operation that led to Napoleon’s initial domination of the government of France.
But Lucien, who was also the tallest of the Bonaparte siblings, came to have significant differences with his brother. The two were at odds for a number of years, with Lucien marrying secretly – twice – and refusing to divorce for strategic marriages Napoleon hoped to engineer. The brothers did eventually reconcile, with Lucien advocating strongly for Napoleon after the disastrous Hundred Days – effectively accusing France’s ruling class of disloyalty – but the die was cast, and Napoleon’s time as ruler of France was done.
Like several of his siblings, Lucien lived out his days in Italy, succumbing to stomach cancer in 1840.
Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast.
Sources
Juliette Recamier: French Salon Hostess (geriwalton.com)
Napoleon’s Brother: Lucien Bonaparte (geriwalton.com)
Lucien Bonaparte (museonapoleonico.it)
Lucien Bonaparte (Prince of Canino) 1775-1840, Minister (napoleon.org)
Lucien Bonaparte (palaces-of-europe.com)
Lucien Bonaparte (en.wikipedia.org)
10 Interesting Facts About Napoleon’s Family (shannonselin.com)
Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon’s Scandalous Brother (shannonselin.com)
