JéRôME BONAPARTE

'Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia' (November 15, 1784 – June 24, 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia (1807-1813). After 1848, when his nephew Louis Napoleon became President of the French Republic, he served in several official roles.

Contents

Early life

King of Westphalia

Later years

Family

See also

External links

Early life

Jérôme was born 'Girolamo Buonaparte' in Ajaccio, Corsica as the eighth and last surviving child, fifth surviving son, of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. He was a younger brother of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lucien Bonaparte, Elisa Bonaparte, Louis Bonaparte, Pauline Bonaparte and Caroline Bonaparte.
He studied at the Catholic college of Juilly, and then served with the French navy before going to the United States. On December 24, 1803, Jérôme married Elizabeth Patterson (1785-1879), daughter of Baltimore merchant William Patterson and his wife Dorcas Spear. Napoleon annulled their marriage but a son, Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Camberwell Grove, Camberwell, London, England.

King of Westphalia

Made king of Westphalia, the short-lived realm created by Napoleon from the states of northwestern Germany (1807-1813), with its capital in Kassel (then: Cassel), Jérôme married Catharina of Württemberg, the daughter of the King of Württemberg. The connection to a German princess was intended to strengthen the reputation of the young French king. In order to emphasize his rank as a ruler, Jérôme commissioned grandiose state portraits of himself and his spouse. Other paintings celebrated his military expolits. France's most prominent painters were in his service.
When Jérôme and Katharina arrived in Kassel, they found the palaces in a plundered state. As such, they placed orders for an array of stately furniture and expensive silverware with leading Parisian manufactures. The local artisans oriented themselves with these French models. The king also intended to refurnish his capital archtecturally. The court theatre ranks among the small number of projects realised. Jérôme had it designed by Leo von Klenze and constructed next to the summer residence previously known as Wilhelmshöhe, but subsequently changed to Napoleonshöhe.
As a model state, the Kingdom of Westphalia was to serve as an example for the other German states. For this reason, it received the first constitution and parliament to be found on German soil. Jérôme imported the empire style from Paris, thereby bestowing the new state with a modern, representative appearance. Thanks to these efforts, Kassel celebrated an enormous cultural upturn.

Later years

Although Katharina was aware of Jérôme's constant affairs, she remained true to her husband even after the loss of dignity. They had a son, Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte (1822-1891), also known as "Prince Napoleon" or "Plon-Plon". Their second child, a daughter, Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, was prominent during and after the Second French Empire as a hostess. After his own kingdom was dissolved, he was given the title of ''Prince of Montfort'' by the king of Württemberg.
After Emperor Napoleon's ouster, Jérôme moved to Italy where he married Giustina Pecori-Suárez, the widow of an Italian nobleman.
When his nephew, Prince Louis Napoleon, became President of the French Republic in 1848, Jérôme was made governor of Les Invalides, Paris, the burial place of his famous brother. He later became Marshal of France and president of the Senate during his nephew's regime, and was confirmed in the title of ''Prince Français.''
Jérôme Bonaparte died on June 24, 1860 at Villegenis, France (today Massy in Essonne). He is buried in Les Invalides, Paris.
His grandson Charles Joseph Bonaparte served as United States Secretary of the Navy and United States Attorney General. He founded the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1908.

Family

★ Jérôme Bonaparte, Prince of Montfort (1814-1847)

★ Mathilde Bonaparte (1820-1904) married Anatole Demidoff, 1st Prince de San Donato

★ Napoléon Joseph Bonaparte (1822-1891) married Princess Clotilde of Savoy

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★ Napoléon Victor Bonaparte (1862-1926) married Princess Clementine of Belgium

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★ Clotilde Bonaparte (1912-1996) married Serge de Witt

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★ Louis Bonaparte (1914-1997) married Alix de Foresta

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★ Charles Bonaparte (1950-) married Princess Beatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Jeanne Françoise Valliccionni

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★ Caroline Napoléon Bonaparte (1980-)

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★ Jean-Christophe Napoléon Bonaparte (1986-)

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★ Sophie Cathérine Bonaparte (1992-)

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★ Catherine Bonaparte (1950-) married Marquis Nicholas of S Germane, John Duale

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★ Laura Bonaparte (1952-) married John Claude Leconte

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★ Jerome Xavier Bonaparte (1957-)

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★ Napoléon Louise Bonaparte (1864-1932)

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★ Maria Laetitia Bonaparte (1866-1926) married Amedeo, 1st Duke of Aosta

See also

★ Bonaparte

External links

★ Online Biography of Jérôme Bonaparte (in French)

★ Online Biography of Jérôme Bonaparte (in German)

★ The Royalist: The Prince, the Princess and her un-noble lover

★ König Lustik!? Jérôme Bonaparte and the Model State Kingdom of Westphalia. State Exhibition of Hesse 2008. Museum Fridericianum Kassel / Germany