Carolina Maria Annunziata Bonaparte Murat Macdonald (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: ''Caroline Marie Annonciade Bonaparte''; 25 March 1782 – 18 May 1839), better known as Caroline Bonaparte, was an Imperial French princess; the seventh child and third daughter of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino, and a younger sister of
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. She was queen of Naples during the reign of her spouse there, and regent of Naples during his absence four times: in 1812-1813, 1813, 1814, and 1815.
In 1800, Caroline married Joachim Murat Jordy,
Marshal of the Empire
Marshal of the Empire (french: Maréchal d'Empire) was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by ''Sénatus-consulte'' on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. Acc ...
, Prince Murat and later King of Naples, one of Napoleon's most important and notorious generals.
Early years
Caroline was born in
Ajaccio
Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...
, Corsica to Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. She was a younger sister of
Joseph Bonaparte
it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte
, house = Bonaparte
, father = Carlo Buonaparte
, mother = Letizia Ramolino
, birth_date = 7 January 1768
, birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French ...
Jérôme Bonaparte
Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), King of Westphalia, between 1807 and 1 ...
. Highly regarded for her beauty and intelligence, Caroline was also complex in temperament, ambitious and politically savvy.
In 1793, Caroline moved with her family to France during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
. Caroline was educated as a pupil at the school in St-Germain-en-Laye founded by Madame Jeanne Campan. She attended the school at the same time as
Hortense
Hortense is a French feminine given name that comes from Latin meaning ''gardener''. It may refer to:
Persons
* Hortense Allart (1801–1879), Italian-French feminist writer and essayist
* Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), stepdaughter of N ...
, Joséphine's daughter and Caroline's brother Louis' wife.
She fell in love with the flamboyant and charismatic
Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the m ...
, one of her brother's senior cavalry commanders, and they married on 20 January 1800. Caroline was seventeen years old. Initially, Napoleon did not wish to allow them to marry, however, his wife
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Josephine may refer to:
People
* Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer
Places
* Josephine, Texas, United States
*Mount Josephine (disambiguation)
* Josephine Co ...
persuaded him to change his mind.
When Napoleon became Emperor, she and her sisters persuaded him to make them Imperial princesses.
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
on 1 August 1808, when her husband was appointed to the equivalent positions by her brother. According to the terms of the appointment, she would keep the title queen also after the death of her spouse.
As queen, Caroline renovated the royal residences in Naples, had new gardens planned, encouraged the growing interest in furniture of Classical design, patronized the silk- and cotton industry and French artists in Naples, showed an interest in the archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and founded a school for girls.
She was described as intensely jealous of her sister-in-law Joséphine and her children, reportedly because she felt Napoleon favored them over his Bonaparte relatives. It was reportedly Caroline who arranged for Napoleon to take a mistress, Éléonore Denuelle, who duly gave birth to his first illegitimate child. This had the desired effect of establishing that Joséphine was infertile, as Napoleon showed he was clearly capable of siring children, which eventually resulted in his divorce from Josephine and remarriage. In 1810, when Napoleon married his second Empress ConsortMarie Louise of Austria, Caroline was responsible for escorting her to France. After meeting her at the border of Austria and her duchy, Caroline forced Marie-Louise to leave all her luggage, servants, and even her pet dog, behind in Austria.
Caroline devoted herself to the interests of her husband
Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the m ...
, the King of Naples, where she was very much involved in the affairs of the Kingdom. As queen of Naples, she functioned as the regent of Naples during the absence of Joachim on four occasions: during his participation in the war on Russia in 1812-1813, during his participation in the war in Germany in 1813, during the war against Napoleon in 1814, and, finally, during the return of Napoleon to power in 1815. In 1814, she supported his decision to make a separate peace with the anti-Napoleonic allies, keeping his throne while Napoleon was deposed.Caroline Bonaparte /ref>
Then, during the
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restorati ...
of 1815, Joachim came out for Napoleon. During his absence, Caroline was left as regent of Naples. Joachim was defeated and executed, and Caroline fled to the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...
. Whilst in exile, she adopted the title 'Countess of Lipona'; 'Lipona' being an anagram of 'Napoli' (Naples).
Later life
In 1830, she married Francesco (François) Macdonald (1777–1837), a relative of Marshal Étienne Macdonald, who had been Minister of War of the Kingdom of Naples in 1814 and 1815. She lived in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
until her death in 1839. She and Macdonald had no children. Caroline died in 1839 and was buried at the Chiesa di Ognissanti, in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
.
One of her great-great-great-grandsons was the American actor
René Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony A ...
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
Byrd C. Willis (29 August 1781 – 1846) and Mary Lewis, without issue.
* Princess Marie Letizia Joséphine Annonciade Murat (26 April 1802, Paris – 12 March 1859,
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
); married in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
– 10 April 1878, Paris); married on
Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Charleston, South Carolina – 10 February 1879, Paris), daughter of Thomas Fraser and wife, Anne Lauton, and had issue; he was an associate of his first cousin
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
.
* Princess Louise Julie Caroline Murat (21 March 1805, Paris – 1 December 1889,
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
); married in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...
, on 25 October 1825 Giulio Conte Rasponi (19 February 1787, Ravenna – 19 July 1876,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
Caroline
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...