| Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Montfort | |
.jpg) Photograph,c. 1875 | |
| Head of the House of Bonaparte (disputed) | |
| Tenure | 1 June 1879 – 17 March 1891 |
| Predecessor | Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial |
| Successor | Victor, Prince Napoléon |
| Born | (1822-09-09)9 September 1822 Trieste,Austria |
| Died | 17 March 1891(1891-03-17) (aged 68) Rome,Italy |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Bonaparte |
| Father | Jérôme Bonaparte |
| Mother | Catharina of Württemberg |
PrinceNapoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte[1] (9 September 1822 – 17 March 1891), usually calledNapoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte orJérôme Bonaparte, was the second son ofJérôme, King of Westphalia, youngest brother ofNapoleon I, and his second wifeCatharina of Württemberg. Following the death of his cousinLouis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial in 1879, he claimed headship of theHouse of Bonaparte until his death in 1891. An outspokenliberal however,[2][3] he was passed over as heir in his cousin's final will, which instead chose his elder sonVictor, who was favored by mostBonapartists.[4] From the 1880s onwards, he was one of the stronger supporters of GeneralGeorges Boulanger, together with other monarchist forces.[5]
As well as bearing the title ofPrince Napoléon, given to him by his cousin EmperorNapoleon III in 1852,[6]he was also2nd Prince of Montfort,1st Count of Meudon andCount of Moncalieri, following his marriage withMaria Clotilde of Savoy in 1859. His popular nickname,Plon-Plon, stemmed from his difficulty in pronouncing his own name while still a child, although other notable historians and contemporary letters by his nephew Colonel Jérôme Bonaparte claim it was because he ran in cowardice during battle when the bombs fell. Another nickname, "Craint-Plomb" ("Afraid-of-Lead",) was given to him by the army due to his absence from theBattle of Solferino.
Born atTrieste in theAustrian Empire (todayItaly), and known as "Prince Napoléon", "Prince Napoléon-Jérôme,"[a][7] or by thesobriquet of "Plon-Plon", he was a close advisor to his first cousin,Napoleon III of France, and in particular was seen as a leading advocate of French intervention in Italy on behalf ofCamillo di Cavour and theItalian nationalists. Until Napoleon III produced an heir apparent, the Bonaparte family were at odds for who should be the heir presumptive, a matter complicated by Jérôme Bonaparte's first marriage to AmericanElizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, with whom he had a son,Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte. A meeting of the Bonaparte family, presided over by Napoleon III, determined that Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte and his descendants would be excluded from the line of succession, making Prince Napoléon the heir presumptive.
Ananti-clericalliberal, he led that faction at court and tried to influence the Emperor to anti-clerical policies, against the contrary influence of the Emperor's wife, theEmpress Eugénie, a devoutCatholic and a conservative, and the patroness of those who wanted French troops to protect the Pope'ssovereignty in Rome. The Emperor was to navigate between the two influences throughout his reign.
When his cousin became president in 1848, Napoléon-Jérôme was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain. He later served in a military capacity as general of a division in theCrimean War, asGovernor of Algeria, and as a corps commander in the FrenchArmy of Italy in 1859. His residency in Paris, theMaison pompéienne, was renowned for its Roman style architecture.
As part of his cousin's policy of alliance withPiedmont-Sardinia, in 1859 Napoléon-Jérôme marriedPrincess Maria Clotilde of Savoy, daughter ofVictor Emmanuel II of Italy. However this did not prevent a nine-year relationship with the courtesanCora Pearl.
WhenLouis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial died in 1879, Prince Napoléon-Jérôme became, genealogically, the most senior member of theBonaparte family,[7] but the Prince Imperial's will excluded him from the succession, nominating Prince Napoléon-Jérôme's sonVictor as his successor. As a result, Prince Napoléon-Jérôme and his son quarreled for the remainder of Prince Napoléon-Jérôme's life. In his final will, Napoléon-Jérôme excluded Victor as his heir, declaring him "a traitor and a rebel", instead nominating his younger sonLouis as his successor.[8]
Prince Napoléon-Jérôme, upon being banished from France by the 1886 law exiling heads of the nation's former ruling dynasties, settled atPrangins on the shores ofLake Geneva, inVaud,Switzerland where, during theSecond Empire, he had acquired a piece of property.[7] The assets he left his heir were extremely modest: Besides the Villa Prangins and the adjoining estate of 75 hectares, estimated at 800,000 francs of the time, approximately 130 million of France'sold francs, they were limited to a portfolio valued at 1,000,000 (1891) francs, about 160 million old francs.[7]
Prince Napoléon-Jérôme died inRome in 1891, aged 68.
He and Princess Maria Clotilde had three children:[9]
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victor, Prince Napoléon | 1862 | 1926 | marriedPrincess Clémentine of Belgium, a daughter ofLeopold II of Belgium. |
| Louis Bonaparte | 1864 | 1932 | Russian Lieutenant General and Governor ofErivan |
| Maria Letizia Bonaparte | 1866 | 1926 | who in 1888 became the second wife of her maternal unclePrince Amedeo,Duke of Aosta (1845–1890), who had, from 1870 until 1873, reigned asKing of Spain. |
French Empire: Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour, 3 January 1853[10]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold, 1 January 1854[11]
United Kingdom:Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (military),5 September 1855[12]
Sweden-Norway:[13]
Denmark:Knight of the Elephant, 24 September 1856[14]| Ancestors of Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Media related toNapoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte at Wikimedia Commons
Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte Born: 9 September 1822 Died: 17 March 1891 | ||
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| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Emperor of the French 1 June 1879 - 17 March 1891 Reason for succession failure: Empire abolished in 1870 | Succeeded by |
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1 Actually reigned twice: first from 1814–1815, second from 1815–1824 2 Actually reigned from 1824–1830 3 Reigned in pretense asLouis Philippe II from 1848–1873 4 Briefly restored and then deposed in 1815 5 Actually reigned from 1852–1870 6 Pretense disputed until 1891 7 Pretense currently disputed | |||||
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Several family members held additional titles invassal states | ||
Third cabinet of Napoleon III (2 December 1852 - 17 July 1869) | ||
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Preceded bySecond cabinet of Louis Napoleon • Followed byFourth cabinet of Napoleon III | ||
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