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…
Tag: Napoleon Bonaparte
63. Meet the Bonapartes: Napoleon and Marie Louise of Austria
When it came time for Napoleon to find a successor to Josephine as his wife, pickings were slimmer than you might expect. Russia’s Alexander I wouldn’t entertain the idea of a marriage between the French emperor and Alex’s youngest sister, Anna Pavlovna. Austria, which had spent years battling – and losing to – France, became…
62. Meet The Bonapartes: Napoleon and Josephine
Part of the joy of history is how resonant it often is. Imagine an ambitious if dysfunctional family with some minor claim to nobility in some far off backwater rising to power – to the highest office in the land – on the strength of a charismatic son known as much for his professional acumen…