Joachim Joseph Napoléon Murat, 4th Prince Murat (21 July 1834 – 23 October 1901) was a major-general in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

and a member of the Bonaparte-

Murat Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsew ...

family.

Early life

Joachim Joseph was born at Bordentown,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, on 21 June 1834. He was the eldest son, of four siblings, born to the former Caroline Georgina Fraser (1810–1879) and Prince Napoléon Lucien Charles Murat, 2nd Prince of Pontecorvo and 3rd Prince Murat. His father was the second son of

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first Sicilian Vespers, separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou ...

, who married

Napoleon 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 ...

's sister, Caroline Bonaparte. His maternal grandparents were Thomas Fraser, a Scottish emigrant to the United States and major in the

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

militia during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, and his wife Ann Loughton (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Smith) Fraser.

Career

He moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with his family in 1848, after the fall of

Louis-Philippe of France Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

, where his father was appointed Minister,

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and

imperial prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

. In 1852 Joachim entered the army, becoming an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

the following year and rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1863. In 1866 he became a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

of a regiment of the Cavalry Guard. In 1870 he was made brigadier general and participated in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

that led to the end of the Second Empire. After the fall of

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 ...

he retired to a private life but was able to maintain the title of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Personal life

In 1854, he married 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 ...

Malcy Louise Caroline Berthier de Wagram (1832–1884), at the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

. She was a daughter of Napoléon Berthier de Wagram, 2nd Duc de Wagram, and the former Zénaïde Françoise Clary. His wife's paternal grandfather was Marshal Berthier and she was a grand-

niece In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

Désirée Clary Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary (; 8 November 1777 – 17 December 1860) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 to 8 March 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Charles John was a French general and founder of the House o ...

and

Julie Clary Marie Julie Clary (26 December 1771 – 7 April 1845), also known as Julie Bonaparte, was Queen of Naples, then of Spain and the Indies, as the wife of Joseph Bonaparte, who was King of Naples from January 1806 to June 1808, and later King ...

. Together, they were the parents of three surviving children, two daughters and one son: * Princess Eugénie Louise Caroline Zenaide Murat (1855–1934), who married Giuseppe Caracciolo, 9th Prince of Torella (1839–1910), in Paris in June 1887. * Joachim, 5th Prince Murat (1856–1932), who married Marie Cécile Ney d'Elchingen, a daughter of the Prince de la Moskowa and a great-granddaughter of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The son of ...

, in 1884. * Princess Anna Napoléona Karolina Alexandrine Murat (1863–1940), who married Count Agenor Maria Gołuchowski, the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. As a widower (since 1884), he married secondly the Baroness Hainguerlot, ''

'' Lydia Hervey (1841–1901), in Paris on 7 November 1894. Lydia was born in Kemptown,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, and was the daughter of Charles John Vigors Hervey, Esq. and Martha Hervey (''née'' Kemp). She was the widow of Arthur, Baron Hainguerlot (1833–1892), a wealthy Parisian banker. Joachim and his second wife did not have any children together. He spent the rest of his life at his family's castle, the Château de Chambly in Chambly, Oise,

where his second wife died on 25 September 1901. Prince Murat there died a month later on 23 October 1901.

Awards

* 1860: Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1862), "Großherzogliche Orden
p. 64
/ref> * 26 January 1861: Knight of the Red Eagle, 1st Class * 1867: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold

Ancestry

References

''of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

'' , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim, 4th Prince Murat 1834 births 1901 deaths 20th-century French people Princes Murat People from Bordentown, New Jersey Princes of Pontecorvo French generals House of Bonaparte Murat family French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War American emigrants to France French people of Scottish descent Commanders of the Legion of Honour