Princess Éléonore-Justine Bonaparte (née Éléonore-Justine Ruflin; 1 July 1832 – 13 October 1905) was the wife of Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte, a nephew of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. Under the pseudonym Nina Bonaparte she published a memoir titled ''History of My Life''. As she was from a peasant background, her

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

to Prince Pierre-Napoléon, although recognized by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, was not accepted by Pierre's cousin

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and the

House of Bonaparte The House of Bonaparte (originally ''Buonaparte'') is a former imperial and royal European dynasty of French and Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, the son of Corsican nobleman Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte (née ...

and did not receive civil legitimacy until the fall of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

Early life and family

Éléonore-Justine Ruflin was born on 1 July 1832 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. She was the daughter of Julien Ruflin, a foundry worker, and his wife Justine Bucard, both from peasantry. She had a sister named Elisa.

Marriage and issue

In 1852 Ruflin married Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte in a Catholic ceremony at Calvi, Haute-Corse. Her husband was the son of Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano and Alexandrine de Bleschamp and a nephew of

of France. The

did not approve of the marriage due to Ruflin's

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

, and prevented a civil union from occurring until the fall of the

. She had five children, only two of whom survived: * Prince Roland Bonaparte (1858-1924) married Marie-Félix Blanc * Princess Jeanne Bonaparte (1861-1910), married Christian, Marquise de Villeneuve-Escaplon Ruflin was the grandmother of Princess Marie Bonaparte and helped raise her after her mother, Marie-Félix Blanc, died in 1882.

Later life

Ruflin and her husband moved from

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

to Paris. After her husband killed Victor Noir in a duel, the family took refuge at the Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval in Belgium. After her husband had a string of affairs, Ruflin moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and opened a fashion boutique in London. Her business was unsuccessful, and she returned to Paris with her children. Back in France, she orchestrated the marriages of her son to Marie-Félix Blanc, an heiress, and her daughter to

Christian de Villeneuve-Esclapon Christian de Villeneuve-Esclapon (1852–1931) was a French aristocrat, politician and Félibrige supporter. He served in the National Assembly (France), National Assembly of France from 1889 to 1893 and published a newspaper called ''Lou Prouven� ...

, a nobleman. She published a memoir titled ''History of My Life'' under the pseudonym Nina Bonaparte. She was interested in politics and was a critic of

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

Death

In the summer of 1905, Ruflin suffered from

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of part ...

. She died on 13 October 1905 at her grandson's mansion in Paris and was buried in the Cimetière des Gonards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruflin, Eleonore-Justine 1832 births 1905 deaths 19th-century French memoirists 19th-century French women writers 20th-century French women writers French women memoirists People of the French Third Republic People of the Second French Empire House of Bonaparte Morganatic spouses Writers from Paris Princesses of France (Bonaparte) Princesses by marriage Burials at the Cimetière des Gonards