#Betsy Patterson bonaparte

[empirearchives]

Apparently there’s a biopic in the works about Napoleon’s American sister-in-law, Betsy Patterson Bonaparte.

She was the first wife of Jerome Bonaparte. I’m really curious about this. There’s definitely some drama in Betsy’s story during her time as Jerome’s wife. If they end up making this, I’m sure Napoleon will be in it! (Btw, Betsy and Jerome’s descendants end up becoming very important American figures. One of them was the creator of the FBI)

This is Betsy (left) and Jerome (right):

[roehenstart]

Portrait of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II (1830-1893) in his West Point cadet uniform. By George D'Almaine.

Born in Baltimore, Jerome was a grandson of the famous Elizabeth "Betsy" Patterson Bonaparte (1789-1875) and brother to Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851-1921), a U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of the Navy.

[microcosme11]

“The Last Bonaparte”

Interesting article about Charles Joseph Bonaparte (grandson of Betsy Patterson and Jerome Bonaparte). He served in the cabinet of President Theodore Roosevelt as Secretary of the Navy and Attorney General.

link

[napoleondidthat]

Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson, first wife of Jerome Bonaparte.

[venicepearl]

Elizabeth "Betsy" Patterson Bonaparte (February 6, 1785 – April 4, 1879) was an American socialite. She was the daughter of a Baltimore merchant, and the first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon's youngest brother.

[josefavomjaaga]

The “Schwabinger Tor” (gate to Schwabing), to be demolished only a couple of years later, in order to allow for the building of Ludwigstraße. The towers on the very right belong to Theatinerkirche, where several Bavarian kings are buried, Maximilian I, our Max Joseph of this tale, among them.

Through this gate, people expected to see Napoleon arrive in Munich on December 30, 1805. The electoral (soon-to-be royal) family of Bavaria and the whole town had been waiting since early afternoon. Unfortunately, Napoleon only made it into town an hour after midnight, und by then, the welcome comitee had been reduced to a single unit of cavalry. The rest of town had gone to bed.

But who cares. The next morning, December 31, Napoleon had an important duty: inspect the merchandise the bride. According to what Napoleon would relate on Saint Helena, Max Joseph brought his daughter to him deeply veiled and then unveiled her like a statue. Because of this procedure, Napoleon felt somewhat flustered, which people then took for him being quite impressed with the young lady.

Or so he later said. However, in his correspondence at the time, he indeed referred to her looks with an unusual frequency:

Munich, December 31, 1805 To Prince Joseph My Brother, I have demanded Princess Auguste, daughter of the Elector of Bavaria, who is a very pretty person, to be married to Prince Eugene.

***

Munich, 31 December 1805 To Marshal Berthier [...] The marriage between Prince Eugene and Princess Auguste of Bavaria is arranged. The princess seemed to me very nice. This will be, I hope, a pretty couple.

***

Munich, January 7, 1806 To M. Cambaceres [...] nothing is more agreeable to me than the union of a princess as perfect as the Princess Augusta with a child for whom everyone knows my tender feelings.

***

Munich, January 7, 1806 Message to the senate [...] I could not resist the pleasure of personally uniting the young couple, who are both the model of their sex.

***

Munich, January 7, 1806 To Marshal Berthier […] The princess is really very beautiful, and, better than that, extremely kind.

No. He was probably not impressed at all.

According to one writer, this actually may have given some people ideas. Hortense comments in her memoirs on the feelings of Caroline and Joachim Murat:

He had, because of this marriage, some family scenes to deal with. Murat and his wife did not want to attend. The one could not suffer a young man to precede him after the brilliant campaign which he had just made and he broke his sword on learning of the adoption of my brother; the viceroyalty of Italy had already given him a lot of temper. The other was revolted by the idea of an alliance which was advantageous to a family which she did not consider her own. On her return she spoke openly to me about it and confessed that in Munich she had advised her brother to divorce his wife and to marry the Princess Auguste himself, because this was, she said, the right woman for him.

It would have been an interesting twist in Napoleon’s story. Particularly, as Auguste’s first children were all daughters…

However, once Napoleon had talked with Auguste, had scolded her for wanting to marry her cousin Karl von Baden for love, which princesses are not born for, and had – I hope! - tried to reassure that 17-year-old a little about her unknown future husband, he had to talk to yet another lady: Auguste’s old governess, Madame de Wurmb, who in Auguste’s life almost held the place of a mother (Auguste’s real mother having died when the girl had not yet been 12 years old). This lady lived for nothing but etiquette and for this reason alone had been extremely opposed to any marriage with that so-called prince Beauharnais or whatever this revolutionary impostor called himself. In order to win her over, Napoleon resorted to the simplest of means: bribery. He offered the elderly lady a whole set of precious jewelery, and guess what? It worked. At least enough for Madame de Wurmb to give up her open opposition.

Which, according to a story Napoleon himself told to crown prince Ludwig during Ludwig’s stay in Paris a couple of months later, allowed Napoleon to ask a rather important question: As Princesse Auguste and Prince Karl von Baden had been engaged for quite some time, as both families were quite close, and as the couple apparently had been so much in love with each other, well, uh… oh, dammit, had the princess already slept with the prince? At which point Madame de Wurmb almost dropped to the floor unconscious, and Napoleon exclaimed: »Thank you, thank you, that’s all I wanted to know!« and shoved her out of the audience chamber.

Again, that’s the story that Napoleon told Ludwig. Who, after his stay in Paris, visited his sister and brother-in-law in Milan and there also met Madame de Wurmb. Who indignantly called this story a lie. »He lied, he never said that to me, he never would have dared to tell me that; the only thing he told me was that he considered it impossible that such a young person should already have such deep-rooted feelings for anyone.«

To make matters even more complicated, Ludwig had extremely bad hearing and may simply have misunderstood what Napoleon was telling him. But the story itself is just too nice to not be retold.

And as I quoted from a letter to Joseph Bonaparte above, this letter is also worthy to be cited in full:

Munich, 31 December 1805

To Prince Joseph

My brother, I have demanded the princess Auguste, daughter of the elector of Bavaria, who is a very pretty person, in marriage for prince Eugène. The marriage has been settled. I have demanded another princess for Jérôme. As you saw him last, let me know if I can count on this young man to do what I want. I have also arranged for your eldest daughter to marry a little prince who will one day become a great prince. As this latter marriage would only take place in a few months, I will have time to talk to you about it. I ask you to inform my mother on my behalf of the marriage of Prince Eugene to Princess Auguste. I do not wish anything to be said publicly about it.

I have demanded another princess for Jérôme: Shopping tour à la Bonaparte: »Do you happen to have another one in this size? Can be a different colour, no problem.«

Count on this young man to do what I want: Jérôme had just reluctantly given up his American wife Betsy Patterson. It would in fact take some more months until Napoleon could marry off the Bonaparte Benjamin.

Oh, and Joseph … you tell Mum!

Time to quote the last letter because, well, it’s about time to carefully and delicately inform the happy bridegroom, isn’t it:

Munich, 31 December 1805

To Prince Eugene

My Cousin, I have reached Munich. I have arranged your marriage to the Princess Auguste. It has been announced. This morning this princess paid me a visit, and I talked to her for a long time. She is very pretty. You will find her portrait enclosed on a mug, but she is much better.

I shall receive the deputation tomorrow, which is still in Munich.

So, Eugène would indeed see his future wife for the first time ... on a coffee mug. Well, if the marriage fell through you could at least always have some coffee, I guess.

[shannonselin]

4 April 1879: Death of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, a Baltimore belle who became an international celebrity when she married Napoleon’s brother Jerome. Napoleon disapproved of the marriage, so Jerome abandoned Betsy shortly before the birth of their son. In 1875, a journalist wrote:

“Madame Bonaparte is still living in Baltimore, at the age of ninety years. She says she has no intention of dying until she is a hundred. She has been to Europe sixteen times, and contemplates another trip this summer. This old lady has more vivacity and certainly more intelligence than many of the leading women of fashion of the present day. She expresses her opinion upon all subjects with great freedom, and sometimes with bitterness. She has little or no confidence in men; and a very poor opinion of women: the young ladies of the present day, she says, all have the ‘homo mania.’ All sentiment she thinks a weakness. She professes that her ambition has always been – not the throne, but near the throne.” 

Betsy was 94 when she died. Her funeral was attended only by the immediate family and a few friends. She was buried in Baltimore’s Green Mount Cemetery under the epitaph “After life’s fitful fever she sleeps well.”

[labarregalleries]

Elizabeth “Betsy” Patterson Bonaparte signed document. She was an American socialite and the first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon's youngest brother. Newly Discovered. #elizabeth #socialite #socialites #french #bonaparte #napoleon #baltimore #baltimoreandohio (at Portsmouth, New Hampshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fzbcrntKi/?igshid=1tuvx7ddchan1

[jerseydeanne]

I believe two of George IV's brothers married their mistresses. I understand The Prince of Wales has always had a fascination with Wallace & Edward & tried to broker a reconciliation between Wallace & The Queen Mum who was having none of it. Interestingly, Wallace was from Baltimore the same as Betsy (Patterson) Bonaparte who was another sad story. Did you know Napolean intended to take over the USA after he defeated the Brits at Waterloo? Hitler intended to attack the USA from Powderham Castle.

No, I didn’t know that, we owed them (france) for the revolutionary war, we didn’t pay the brits for setting us up, so much for democracy. Hitler, ugh we built A-1A inter coastal way to hide our ship and subs, the saying loose lips sink ships. Did you know there is unexploded nuke off the coast of South Carolina?

This is fun.

thanks, history anon! 

[royalcommonwealthfan]

Baltimore & Britain

Betsy Patterson of Baltimore married a younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte without permission. Betsy and her husband were forced to divorce and their two sons were excluded from the line of succession. Napoleon planned to attack the United States once he had won the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815. 

Wallis Simpson of Baltimore married King Edward VIII for whom he abdicated the British throne. They were associated with Adolf Hitler who intended to make The Earl of Devon’s home of Powderham Castle his base for attacking North America once he had won the Battle of D-Day on 6 June 1944.

[emvidal]

Jerome found himself so fascinated by her wondrous beauty and charm that he forgot about France and his brother Napoleon. He then became intent on marrying the stunning beauty and the wedding was planned a few weeks later on 3 November. However, after Elizabeth’s father received an anonymous letter stating that Jerome had “ruined” other young ladies, he withdrew his support for the marriage. Elizabeth was just as much in love with Jerome as he was with her and being unwilling to give him up, she threatened to elope. Her father thus gave in and the pair were married on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1803.

[empirearchives]

Apparently Pauline and Elizabeth Patterson looked so much alike that people even got them mixed up:

This is how Elizabeth described Pauline, lol

[sartle-blog]

The Crown Season 2: Royal Romances in Art History!

[coltonwbrown]

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte  1804 Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)  From The untidy, tipsy life of Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) plus a few portraits of women mostly

[napoleondidthat]

Did Napoleon's mom ever get along with any of her grandchildren?

She did. She got along very well with Jerome’s son with Betsy Patterson. She was close to several of her daughter-in-laws too. She was particularly close to Julie Clary Bonaparte (Joseph’s wife) and with time became friendly and somewhat close to Hortense de Beauharnais.

[empirearchives]

Painting of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, the first wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, younger brother of Napoleon.

By John Opie, English