Edward Davis - THE BRITISH BONAPARTES

THE BRITISH

BONAPARTES

Dedicated to my mother and grandmother:

Maria Eugenie Michle

and

Michele Jeanne Marie

and in memory of my third and fourth great-grandfathers.

THE BRITISH

BONAPARTES

NAPOLEONS FAMILY IN BRITAIN

Edward Hilary Davis

First published in Great Britain in 2022 by

PEN AND SWORD HISTORY

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Edward Hilary Davis, 2022

ISBN 978 1 39908 852 7

ePUB ISBN 978 1 39908 853 4

Mobi ISBN 978 1 39908 853 4

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I am grateful to many friends for their help and support in the creation of this book, particularly Ashley Coates, Peter Barnes, Dr Helen Scott, Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon and his family, and, of course, my own long-suffering family. (My profound apologies to anyone I sat next to at a dinner party while I was writing this book.) As this book was written during my Master of Studies degree at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Architecture, I am particularly grateful to my supervisors Adrian Tinniswood OBE and Dr Adam Menuge for their continued patience and for letting me research and write alongside my other studies. I am also indebted to Professor Kate Williams for her advice and encouragement for getting the book off the ground.

As this work has been created partly in support of the Royal Versailles Ball (a charity event taking place at the palace of Versailles celebrating the anniversary of the 1855 State Visits of Queen Victoria and Napoleon III), I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my fellow volunteers, committee members and patrons of the Ball, for their support of this book and their continued generosity to its charities: HRH Prince Michael of Kent, TIH Prince and Princess Napoleon, Sir Rodney Williams, GCMG, the Duke of Rutland, the Duke of Fife, the Marquess of Reading, Lord Winston, Lord Lyon King of Arms, Sir Ranulph Fiennes Bt, OBE, Lady Huntington-Whiteley, Julia Carrick OBE, Debbie Wiseman OBE, Antonia Da Silva, Stephanie von Oppell, Emma Murray-Jones, Charlie Oliver, Maddy Everington, Leonora Service and many more. Additionally, I should also like to thank, Roan Hackney, Richard Black, Charles Mundy, Sonya Ebermann, Anastassia Dimmek, Nicholas Morton and the late Helen Morton for their assistance.

His Imperial Highness Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte

Since the time of my four-times great-uncle, Napoleon Bonaparte, my family has had an interesting relationship with the United Kingdom. Between the events of the invasion force gathering at Boulogne in 18031805, and the state visit of Queen Victoria to Versailles in 1855, Britain and the Bonapartes evolved from the greatest of adversaries to the closest of friends.

Following the Battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo, Bonaparte family members went from being prisoners in Britain to welcome guests, and some even became lifelong residents. Many of the wider family (some lesser known than others) made lives for themselves in Britain and, in some instances, were able to make their own small contribution to its history. We must also not forget that the last emperor of the French remains interred in England to this day.

For almost two centuries, Britain and France have been staunch friends and allies. Given their ancient warring history, this is an achievement to be celebrated. The close bonds of friendship formed between members of the British Royal Family and members of the Bonaparte family, such as Napoleon III, Empress Eugenie and others, greatly contributed towards the growing cooperation of the two great nations and sowed the seeds of lasting peace.

As a London resident of some years, I am delighted to continue the close relationship my family has with the British Isles, and that research into the lives of my earlier Bonaparte relatives here has been undertaken. I commend Edward Hilary Davis for his work and research into the family, and for his excellent regaling of lesser-known Bonaparte stories. I thoroughly recommend this book.

For many years I have been fascinated by the way we compartmentalise history. It is a useful tool when teaching children; however; we must understand that there are no blank spots, no gaps between phases of history. Nor should history be viewed solely from one nations perspective. The Middle Ages did not end at Bosworth Field. The Renaissance did not start there either. The Hundred Years War was not 100 years, it is a grouping of several wars, and the English lost them. The British Empire did not start in 1815 and end in 1997. When Napoleon I or Napoleon III fell, the Bonaparte family did not disappear with them. The Second World War is part two of the First World War. The First World War is part two of the Franco-Prussian War. The Franco-Prussian War is arguably part two of the power struggles in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, following the Napoleonic Wars which in turn are a consequence of the French Revolutionary Wars. If viewed through the eyes of one family and several of its generations, the gaps and blank spots of history (caused by our subconscious compartmentalisation) can be filled, and shed more human light on the times.

This book aims to shed light on a particular family which ordinarily is most famous for being connected to one (or two) great men and one particular country: France. What may be a surprise to many is how big the Bonaparte family was, and how many of its members lived in or made homes for themselves in Britain their traditional enemy. Through surprisingly amusing anecdotes and stories of the Bonapartes, I have tried to show the vibrant and colourful history of this family with the running theme of Great Britain (and her (former) empire)) running throughout. The focus is particularly on those families with a strong interaction with the British Isles and its dominions, including the US and Ireland. Admittedly, the layout of the family is difficult to initially comprehend, mostly owing to overlapping marriages of step-nieces and cousins. I also hope that by working through some of the various branches of the family that these will be made clearer.