Prince Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte (24 August 1814–12 May 1847) was the son of Jérôme Bonaparte and a nephew of

Napoleon I 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 ...

, Emperor of France, and army officer of the German

kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

Life

Jérôme Napoléon was the firstborn child of Jérôme Bonaparte and his second wife Princess

Catharina of Württemberg Princess Katharina Friederike of Württemberg (21 February 1783 – 29 November 1835) was Queen consort of Westphalia by marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte, who reigned as King of Westphalia between 1807 and 1813. Life Katharina was born in Saint P ...

, born 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 prov ...

. The previous year they had been deposed as King and Queen of Westphalia, a kingdom created for Jérôme by his elder brother Napoleon. Jérôme Napoléon's maternal grandfather, King

Frederick I of Württemberg , image = Seele-Friedrich I..jpg , caption = Portrait by Johann Baptist Seele , birth_date = , birth_place = Treptow an der Rega, Prussia (now Trzebiatów, Poland) , death_date = , death_place = Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württe ...

, had given his son-in-law and daughter the title Prince and Princess of Montfort, and Jérôme Napoléon used this courtesy title throughout most of his life. From 1832, Jérôme and his family lived at the court of his maternal uncle, King

William I of Württemberg William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Karl; 27 September 178125 June 1864) was King of Württemberg from 30 October 1816 until his death. Upon William's accession, Württemberg was suffering crop failures and famine in the "Year Without a Summer", ...

. He studied at the military academy of

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is s ...

and served in the army, attaining the ranks of ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' (captain) in 1834, major in 1840, and finally colonel. In the early 1840s he met and received the author Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt in Stuttgart, who wrote of the young prince: "Prince Jérôme of Montfort, gifted with a handsome face and a graceful physiognomy, is French in spirit and in heart. He speaks and dreams of nothing but France. In speaking of the sons of that great nation he always says 'we'. His position at Stuttgart is brilliant; and yet it seems he would prefer the most modest home in France to the most beautiful foreign palace. I told him of the passing of Napoléon; he listened rapt. I spoke to him of the coming of the Duke of Bourdeaux; he listened with interest. 'Eternal glory', the prince told me, 'to whoever makes France happy!' Such too was my thought." Charles-Victor Prévot d'Arlincourt, ''Le Pèlerin'', Paris, Dumont, 1842, pp. 233–234. Of poor health since childhood, in 1845 Jérôme sought leave to let him enter France, to visit

Vernet-les-Bains Vernet-les-Bains (; ca, Vernet) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is a centre for visitors and holidaymakers. The village has a sunny climate (with, on average, 300 days of sunshine each year) and is s ...

with its celebrated spring water, which the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

of King Louis-Philippe I refused. He died, unmarried and childless in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

in 1847, aged 32. As then the eldest legitimate son of Jérôme Bonaparte, he had stood to inherit his titles and claims; instead his younger brother

Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte 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 ...

succeeded to the Westphalia claim. The latter's son

Napoléon Victor Bonaparte 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 ...

became senior male/head of the House of Bonaparte.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonaparte, Jerome Napoleon Charles 1814 births 1847 deaths Jerome Napoleon Charles Military personnel from Trieste Jerome Napoleon Charles Nobility from Trieste Sons of kings