The descendants of Napoleon converted to Orthodoxy and served Russia. The Bonaparte family: what happened to the relatives of Napoleon I Josephine Beauharnais: the crazy empress

We all know the sad fate of Napoleon from the time of history lessons. But people usually know little or nothing about his family. And in vain.

Representatives of the Corsican Bonaparte clan managed to live in Russia, suppress unrest in the Caucasus, found the FBI, save Freud from Hitler, and even inspire Antoine de Saint-Exupery to write The Little Prince.

Sons of the Iron Signora

Napoleon Bonaparte is actually Napoleone Buonaparte. Or just Nabullo for those closest to you. Not the most charismatic name in the world, we agree. Especially for the French ear. The Bonapartes seemed to the French "come in large numbers": they lived in Corsica, where they came from Italy.

Napoleon's mother Letitia Bonaparte was "beautiful as day", and in terms of strength of character she was not inferior to Daenerys Stormborn. She was known as a rebel and an iron lady (well, not a lady, but a signora): already being pregnant with Nabullo, Letizia climbed the Corsican rocks with a dagger in her hands and participated in the uprising for independence from France led by Pascal Paoli.

But the uprising was crushed, so Letizia had to go to take care of children - practically the only purpose of a woman at the end of the 18th century. She had a hard time: her husband, lawyer Carlo Buonaparte, betrayed Pascal Paoli and at the last moment defected to the side of the French. For Letitia, France was a real evil empire. Like Mordor.

So when Napoleon and his older brother Joseph sailed off to study on the Continent, she hardly liked it. Letizia never believed that Napoleon—and even more so his brother, the weak-willed Joseph—would be of any use. All her hopes are for her third son, the ambitious and charming Lucien.

Lucien fiercely competed with Napoleon. In their youth, they both dreamed of becoming writers. Napoleon even wrote one sentimental novel, Clisson and Eugenia, where the protagonist sheds a mean male tear on almost every page and suffers from unrequited love. Lucien surpassed his brother and published not one, but several novels about Indians, "good savages" and beautiful maidens. And he did not limit himself to graphomania, being prolific in Corsican style: he had eleven children from two wives.

Emperor's children

Napoleon had three children. The first-born - Charles Leon Denuel was born from the lecturer of the sister of the future emperor, Caroline. The guy failed. He played cards, drank, went for walks and was not distinguished by special talents. Leon did not know how to save at all and once spent 45 thousand francs in one night. Napoleon's firstborn died a poor and forgotten old man at the age of 75. He had no wife, no children. Leon's funeral was paid for by the Parisian municipality.

The second son, just like in fairy tales, "was a smart kid." Alexander Florian Józef Colonna Walewski, Napoleon's son by the Polish aristocrat Maria Walewska, unlike Leon, hardly knew his father. Bastard was born a month after Napoleon's marriage to his second wife, Princess Marie-Louise of Austria. When Alexander was 14, he proudly turned down an offer from Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov to become his personal aide-de-camp.

Freud was a Jew, and there was no place for him in the world of the Third Reich. When the famous psychoanalyst was in mortal danger, Maria saved him and part of his family: she helped to leave Austria occupied by Hitler. The French film "Princess Marie" is dedicated to the relationship between the student and the teacher. The role of the French intellectual princess was played by Catherine Deneuve.

Charles Joseph: founding the FBI and supporting the lynching

The descendants of the rebellious Leticia were able to successfully realize themselves not only in Europe, but also in the USA. Napoleon Bonaparte's great-nephew Charles Joseph was Secretary of the Navy under Roosevelt. He was an intellectual (graduated from Harvard) and a very insightful person.

It was he who came up with the idea found The Bureau of Investigation, which we now know as the FBI. The new organization initially had only 34 agents.

The Americans did not like Charles Joseph, just as we do not like most officials, and they called him "Free Soup". One day, he inadvertently remarked that there was no difference between free public education and free soup in the cafeteria. Charles Joseph was also nicknamed the Peacock for his swaying gait.

A distant relative of the great Napoleon did not find anything wrong with the practice of lynching and sincerely did not understand why few people supported him.

What now?

Now in the world live approximately Bonapartes. One of the most notable is Charles Napoleon (again) Bonaparte, another descendant of Jerome. Charles Napoleon became a doctor of economic sciences and a financier, at one time he served as vice-mayor of the Corsican city of Ajaccio, the historical homeland of the family. He is passionate about family history and some time ago published the book "Unknown Napoleon - my ancestor." But comparisons with Napoleon I are more than cool:

“After all, I am me, and Napoleon is Napoleon. To be honest, it even annoys me when they see me as only the heir to the imperial dynasty. This is not my merit, but rather my karma,” he said in an interview with the Belarusian portal “SB”. - My philosophy is not that you can reproduce or repeat the actions of your ancestors, but to perceive life with the same optimism and the will to change.

On June 1, 1879 AD, an event occurred that shocked the whole world: in South Africa, in a battle with the Zulus near the Ityotyozi River, twenty-two-year-old British lieutenant Napoleon Eugene Bonaparte (Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph, 1856–1879 AD) went missing. Only son of the late Napoleon III. For Bonapartists - Emperor Napoleon IV.

It was believed, among other things, that he was supported by Russia. In May 1874 AD, during a visit to Great Britain, Emperor Alexander II made a special trip to the military school in Woolwich, where the young Napoleon studied. And for a long time, emphatically affectionately, he talked with him.

It became a real sensation. In France, the Republic held its eighth year, causing more and more anxiety of the European monarchies. But the Bonapartists were still strong. Their deputies sat in parliament. They had support in the army, and the police were generally considered the reserve of Napoleons. And now - the only heir to the throne died - unexpectedly and absurdly.

The next in seniority was his cousin, the son of the youngest of the brothers of Napoleon I, Jerome, King of Westphalia (Jerome Bonaparte, roi de Westphale, 1784–1860 AD) - Prince Napoleon Joseph, nicknamed the Red Prince (Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul, Prince Napoleon, 1822–1891 AD).

A highly controversial contender, constant troublemaker of the Second Empire, leader of the left opposition, almost a socialist. For Russia, in particular, he was completely unacceptable: at one time, Prince Joseph in London met with Herzen, subsidized Russian emigrants, and supported the uprising in Poland. The Red Prince was expected to renounce his rights to the throne. But no - he zealously took up the role of Napoleon V.

In 1884 AD, relying on the right wing of the party, especially on the new generation, the eldest son of the applicant, Prince Victor Napoleon (Napoleon Victor Jerome Frederic Bonaparte, 1862–1926 AD), proclaimed himself a pretender.

His father disowned him and declared his youngest son, Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the heir.

Prince Napoleon Joseph, father of Louis Iosifovich Bonaparte. Hippolyte Flandrin, “Portrait of Prince Napoleon”, 1860 AD

Louis Napoleon Joseph Jerome Bonaparte, Prince of the French Empire, was born June 16, 1864 AD, in the castle of Meudon - during these years the Second Empire flourished. His mother, Princess Clotilde (Marie-Clothilde de Savoie, 1843–1911 AD), was the daughter of Victor Emmanuel II (Vittorio Emanuele II, 1820–1878 AD), King of Italy. According to his maternal grandmother, the prince was a descendant of the Habsburgs of Austria.

Thin, hook-nosed, Prince Louis Napoleon for some reason, unlike his father, did not at all resemble his great grandfather, Napoleon Bonaparte. But for some reason, he was very reminiscent of his uncle, Napoleon III (Napoleon III, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 1808-1873), from his youth he wore the same beard and the famous imperial mustache.

In 1874 AD his father returned with his family from exile to France. Prince Louis, together with his older brother, studied at the Lyceum in Vanves, then at the Charlemagne Lyceum in the capital.

In Paris, despite all the upheavals, his own aunt, the famous Princess Mathilde Bonaparte (Mathilde Letizia Wilhelmine Bonaparte, 1820-1904, 1820-1904), shone then.

Princess Mathilde Bonaparte

At one time she visited Russia, her husband was Anatoly Nikolaevich Demidov (1813–1870 AD) from a famous Ural family - one of the richest people in the world; in order to match his wife, he bought the title of Prince of San Donato.

Matilda broke up with her Russian husband almost thirty years ago, but retained some connections in Russia, including at court. And she lived on the remnants of income from the Ural factories, which she got during the divorce.

The Hotel Mathilde on the Rue Berry was the headquarters of the most brilliant and daring Parisian bohemia. At the age of eighteen, Prince Louis settled with his aunt and instantly turned into a classic socialite varmint.

The highly moral Red Prince was worried. At his urging, in 1884 AD, Louis volunteered for the 31st Infantry Regiment in Blois. The Prince of the Empire willingly donned the greatcoat of a Republic infantryman. he dreamed of a military career since childhood, as a man named Bonaparte should. In 1885 AD is demobilized with the rank of sergeant.

In 1885-86 AD, Prince Napoleon made a great journey through Asia, starting in Egypt, Constantinople, India, China, and ending in Tokyo, where he was honored to be the first European in history to be invited to dine with a Japanese empress.

In 1886 AD, the republican parliament passed a law that shook the whole of royal-imperial Europe: families claiming the throne were expelled from the country. Three rival clans, the Bourbons, Orleans and Bonapartes, have become a tribe of outcasts.

The prince met the news of the expulsion of his father and brother from France in the United States, where he lived with his relative Jerome Bonaparte-Patterson. He decides to return to Europe.

Prince Louis traveled to Moncalieri, a town in northern Italy where his mother lived. Princess Clotilde separated from her husband a long time ago, peacefully, without an official divorce. She had been a member of the Dominican Order for fourteen years and had devoted her life to serving the poor and the sick.

Soon, Louis was taken under his wing by his uncle, King Umberto I (King Humbert, Umberto I, 1844–1900 AD).

The prince became an Italian citizen and in 1887 AD entered the rank of lieutenant in the 13th Regiment of Chevolegers (Uhlans). A year and a half later, he was already a captain. He served modestly and diligently - first in Verona, then in Monferrato.

In the autumn of 1890 AD, the Iveria newspaper reported:

“On Wednesday night, Prince Louis-Napoleon arrived from Batumi by passenger train, heading to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment.”

The twenty-six-year-old prince was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

The enrollment of Bonaparte in the Russian cavalry was a thoughtful, important political action. The Bonapartists again stirred up in France and abroad; it was again said that Russia supported the Napoleonic dynasty.

What made Prince Louis go to Russia? Partly, of course, that the grandmother of Prince Louis, Queen Catherine of Württemberg, was the cousin of Alexander I and Nicholas I. So, the reigning Emperor Alexander III was his fourth cousin.

The current dominant branch of the Napoleonic dynasty comes from the brother of Napoleon I, Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, whose royal title was recognized by the Russian Empire in Tilsit. And he was married and had heirs Jerome with Katarina of Württemberg (born in St. Petersburg), the native niece of the Empress of All Russia Maria Feodorovna, nee Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg, mother of Nicholas I.

It was an amazing and legendary regiment (of the King of Württemberg, grandfather of Alexander III, through whom Napoleon was related to the Romanovs), who had been in the Caucasus for a century. Among other things, it was a kind of Russian foreign legion. Foreigners were sent there, who, for one reason or another, were difficult to keep in the capital. Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte was quite in the spirit of the Nizhny Novgorod dragoons - one last name was worth it.

Nizhny Novgorod, 17th Dragoon, His Majesty's Regiment

The combat exploits of the Nizhny Novgorod people evoked the following words of Emperor Alexander II: "Nizhny Novgorod I consider my first cavalry regiment."

The severe combat school that the regiment went through brought forward from among its ranks a whole series of combat persons who played a major role in the conquest of the Caucasus and contributed many glorious pages to the history of our army.

K. F. Steel
book. A. G. Chavchavadze
N. N. Raevsky
F. L. Krukovsky
book. Ya. I. Chavchavadze
book. A. M. Dondukov-Korsakov
book. I. G. Amilakhvari
N. P. Grabbe
Z. G. Chavchavadze
N.P. Sleptsov
I. I. Shabelsky
A. F. Baggovut

They began their service in the ranks of the Nizhny Novgorod regiment or commanded it.

The regiment had the following insignia:

St. George's standard with the inscription: "For the distinction rendered in the Persian War of 1826, 1827, 1828, for excellent deeds in Chechnya in 1851 and in the battle of Kyuryuk-Dara on July 24, 1854." and "1701-1901", with the Alexander jubilee ribbon;
badges on hats with the inscription "For Distinction";
17 St. George Trumpets with the inscription: "For excellent deeds in the defeat of the 36,000th Turkish corps on the Bashkadiklar heights on November 19, 1853";
buttonholes for military distinction on the uniforms of headquarters and chief officers and lower ranks;
wide St. George ribbons to the standards with the inscription: in the 1st d-zone - "For the battle of October 2 and 3, 1877 at the Aladzhinsky heights" and in the 2nd d-zone - "For deeds at Begli-Akhmet on May 18 and on the Orlovsky heights October 2, 1877";
a special form (gazyri on uniforms and stripes on breeches) and Asian drafts of the sample, approved in the reign of Emperor Nicholas I.

The lists of the Nizhny Novgorod regiment included the Heir Tsesarevich Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich from March 26, 1906 AD.

Emperors Alexander II (from July 12, 1864 AD to March 1, 1881 AD) and Alexander III (from November 27, 1881 AD to October 21, 1894 AD) and V. Kn. Mikhail Nikolaevich (from 13.10.1863 AD to 30.12.1909 AD).

From 1891 AD, Prince Louis was already a colonel, commander of a regiment stationed in Pyatigorsk.

On March 18, 1891 AD, Louis' father, Prince Napoleon Joseph, died. According to his will, both the property and all the rights of the emperor in exile were received by the second son. But the Russian dragoon was not going to quarrel with his brother because of the name of Napoleon VI and did not insist on the execution of the will. Victor and Louis divided the paternal inheritance by mutual agreement. Colonel Ludovik Iosifovich received the Prangins castle, in Switzerland, not far from Lausanne.

In 1897 AD, Prince Louis Napoleon unexpectedly received Her Majesty's Ulansky Regiment, which was part of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division, stationed in Peterhof, in command of the Life Guards. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Georgy Antonovich de Scalon (1847–1914 AD), a descendant of the French Huguenots.

This magnificent division was overshadowed by several crowns. In the 1st brigade, in addition to Ulansky, there was the Life Guards Horse Grenadier Regiment, commanded by Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich (1860–1919 AD). In the second brigade - the Dragoon Life Guards, whose chief was Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847–1909AD); and a horse artillery battalion, its commander was Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (1869–1918 AD).

So Prince Louis Napoleon was, in fact, ranked among the closest kindred circle of the king. To top it off, he was awarded the highest order of the Empire - St. Andrew the First-Called. Without special historical merit, they were awarded only to members of the ruling dynasties. The Bonapartes were not. The order is evidence of the mysterious disposition of the third Russian tsar to the Napoleonides. Nicholas II openly patronized his personal Bonaparte.

However, in the guard, Prince Louis somehow did not take root. Former officer of the Life Lancers Regiment, Count Aleksey Alekseevich Ignatiev (1877–1954 AD) wrote in his memoirs:

“Skalon ... he himself began serving in this regiment, loved him and was not particularly pleased, seeing at the head of the lancers another, however, French, imperial highness - Prince Louis-Napoleon.”

In addition, the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, chief of the Ulan regiment, began to supplant the prince. She intensively promoted her protege, Colonel Alexander Orlov, to the commanders.

In 1902 AD, Louis Napoleon, with the rank of major general, was sent to the Caucasus to command the 1st Caucasian Cavalry Division.

An elite regiment, then an illustrious division - a great career. And it is worth noting that on the same relationship with the tsar, Napoleon's great-nephew would not have taken off so soon from Italian captains to Russian generals.

In 1905 AD, unrest began throughout the country, including in the Transcaucasian provinces. Prince Louis severely suppressed armed uprisings in Kutaisi.

From the newspapers: Tiflis, 21. 09. “..The report of Prince Napoleon, the Governor-General of Erivan, testifies that the bloody clashes between Muslims and Armenians that have resumed in Erivan have not yet stopped and threaten to take on serious proportions…”

Then he was appointed military governor of the Erivan province. Rumors spread in the capital: the tsar was ready to entrust the entire Caucasus to General Bonaparte.

“Instead of Vorontsov, Prince Louis-Napoleon is sent to the Caucasus as a viceroy!”

But this was belated information. The longtime governor of the Caucasus, Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov (1837–1916 AD), ousted his foreign rival without much difficulty.

Caucasian Military District

Was formed in 1865 AD. After a series of changes in 1866, 1868, 1878, 1881, 1883, 1898 and 1899 AD, in 1906 AD the Caucasian Military District included: 7 provinces (Stavropol, Tiflis, Kutaisi, Elisavetpol, Baku, Erivan and Black Sea) and 5 regions (Kuban, Terek, Dagestan, Karsk and Batum) - a total of 12 administrative divisions, of which 3 in the North Caucasus, 9 - in the Transcaucasus, forming Caucasian governorship, whose viceroy at the same time was also the commander-in-chief of the district troops.

The Caucasian Military District occupied an area of 8,476 sq. miles (412,311 sq. versts) with a population of 11.735.100 (1911 AD), or 1391.6 inhabitants. per 1 sq. mile (in European Russia 1375 per 1 sq. mile). The largest population was in the Tiflis province (1,587.6) and the Kuban region (1,543.5), the smallest - in the Black Sea province (842.8) and the Terek region (906.5).

The Caucasian military district was multi-tribal and multi-lingual in population, diverse in religion, interesting in its ancient history, rich in nature, mountainous in relief, healthy in climate, famous for military events that gained unfading fame for Russian weapons, and at the same time very important militarily.

Russia had here the only land border with Turkey, and only from here could Russia reach the Persian Gulf (Indian Ocean), that is, the ice-free outlet.

The relief of the district, despite the pronounced mountainous character (alpine landscape), allowed for the conduct of war by large armies, with the exception of some areas, such as: the main Caucasian ridge, Dagestan region, Kutaisi province, Batumi region and some other smaller areas.

The territory of the district was divided by the main Caucasian ridge into two sharply different parts.

The first - the North Caucasus, otherwise Ciscaucasia - was the richest base for the other part - Transcaucasia, which could represent a probable theater of military operations in a defensive war.

The entire defense of Transcaucasia was reduced mainly to the question of communication routes linking Transcaucasia with the empire in general and with the Ciscaucasia and with the Turkestan military district in particular.

In this regard, despite the fact that there was no pass railway across the Caucasus Range, it must be admitted that the connection between Transcaucasia and the empire was satisfactory (Vladikavkaz, Transcaucasian and Black Sea railways).

In addition to the existing direct, albeit circular, railway route through Baku and the projected coastal Black Sea railway, Transcaucasia was connected by two waterways - with the Volga along the Caspian Sea (the disadvantage is reloading from Volga river ships to sea ones) and with the southern ports of European Russia Black by sea.

It was believed that the pass railway would improve, speed up and more secure communication with the Transcaucasus, but from a military point of view, besides it, other equally important operational routes in the Transcaucasus were needed, including highways, which in mountainous countries have a very large importance and which were very few in Transcaucasia.

The food resources of the district were large, and the active armies could well be provided; bread and fodder - mainly from the North Caucasus, livestock everywhere.

Due to the weak population and mountainous nature, the deployment of troops and the collection of supplies was difficult. The North Caucasus was rich in horses, but in Transcaucasia there were few of them, and they were of a small breed. Weights were transported mostly on oxen and donkeys; the main type of wagon in the mountains was a two-wheeled arba.

In the district were quartered; I, II and III Caucasian corps with their cavalry and auxiliary troops.

Fortresses: Kars and Mikhailovskaya (Batum).

At the end of 1905 AD, after another loud quarrel with the viceroy, Lieutenant General Bonaparte resigned. The year before, Princess Mathilde had died. Prince Louis received the entire inheritance from his aunt. This also hastened his departure.

But Louis did not cut off ties in Russia. In 1908 AD he visited the Kutaisi province. He had a whole retinue with him, twelve Frenchmen. Bonaparte drove along the Black Sea coast: Poti, Zugdidi, Chkaduani estate - his relative and girlfriend, Princess Salome Murat, lived there.

In 1868 AD Achille Charles Louis Napoleon Prince Murat (1847-1895 AD), grandson of the famous Marshal Joachim Murat, Grand Admiral and Imperial Prince, King of Naples and Napoleon I's sister Caroline (Maria Annunziata) Bonaparte, married His Grace Princess Salome Dadiani- Megrelian (1848 -1913 AD). Their children emigrated to France after 1917 AD.

In 1870 AD, he settled in Russia, in the Kutaisi province, where he brought French vines. The famous "Ojaleshi" came from them. By the way, in the local history museum of the city of Zugdidi there was one of the death masks of Napoleon, which was kept in the Murat family.

From 1914 AD, General Bonaparte returned to duty. Throughout the World War, he was the representative of the Emperor of Russia to the Italian General Staff - a very serious post. Terrible for Russia, 1917 AD casually touched the imperial house of France in the person of Lieutenant General Louis. His Russian career ended forever. And collapsed hopes for the general's pension, which the prince really counted on.

Since that time he has lived in Switzerland. Times were difficult. A significant part of the estate was sold long ago. In 1919 AD, the new co-owner of the castle, a certain Parisian rentier, settled Karl von Habsburg, the deposed Kaiser of Austria-Hungary, in his part of Prangena. From Pranjen he led conspiracies in Austria, from there he left in 1921 AD to lead the invasion of Hungary. It is quite probable that the retired Russian general was giving advice to his irreconcilable cousin. But in general he eschewed politics for the rest of his life.

In 1926 AD, after the death of Victor Napoleon's brother Louis, he adopted his children, daughter Mathilde (later married to Sergei Witte, Mannerheim's adjutant) and son (Prince Louis Jerome Victor Emanuel Napoleon)

In recent years, Louis Napoleon traveled all over the world, spent a long time in the United States and Japan. He died in Prangene on October 14, 1932 AD, before reaching the age of seventy. After his death, the new head of the imperial house, Prince Louis Napoleon, the only son of his brother Victor (Victor Jerome Frederick Bonaparte), moved to the castle.

Prangen Castle is not striking in its vastness and beauty of the facades.

Buried in the Basilica di Superga (Torino)

Ludwig Iosifovich never married. But this did not mean that he was indifferent to women. Most likely - on the contrary. Gossip Alexandra Bogdanovich wrote about him:

“Bad information about him. The Armenians bought him as a gift when they sent him to Kutais to pacify him - they gave him a beauty, with whom he was captivated, locked himself up with her and forgot about the riots. Now this beauty accompanies him everywhere, and for her the Armenians are in his favour.”

And this is far from the only novel by Louis Bonaparte in Russia. There may be descendants. Back in the 1920s AD, this exciting consideration was expressed by the writer Konstantin Vaginov (the son of a St. Petersburg gendarmerie colonel, his real name was von Wagenheim, 1899–1934 AD) in his autobiographical story “The Works and Days of Svistonov”:

“Great,” thought Svistonov, “Chavchavadze is the Georgian ambassador under Paul I ... Pole. - he thought, - It would be necessary to have another Pole. Moreover, to invent an illegitimate son of one of the Bonapartes, who commanded a Russian regiment in the 1880s.”

Perhaps the writer was not just fantasizing, but tasting a certain rumor, and the genealogy of the Russian Bonapartes does not end at the first generation.

Now the head of the dynasty is Charles Napoleon.

Jr son of Napoleon Bonaparte, the only one born in a legal marriage, Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte lived a short life, he became heir to the throne and was proclaimed emperor by Napoleon II, but was never crowned. Despite his high origin, he was isolated from the French court and parents and actually became a prisoner at the Austrian court. A great fate awaited him, but the Eaglet did not justify the hopes of the Bonapartists, having died at the age of 21.

After 13 years of marriage, Napoleon Bonaparte decided to divorce the childless Josephine in order to marry a woman who could give him an heir to the throne. By that time, he already had two illegitimate sons - from Eleanor Denuel de la Plaine and Maria Walewska. At the same time, the marriage was supposed to become dynastic and strengthen the position of Napoleon, making him related to the current legitimate monarch of another state. Napoleon proposed to the sister of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, but was refused. Then his choice fell on the daughter of the Austrian Emperor Franz I, Maria-Louise. Their wedding took place in 1810, and a year later they had a son, Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles, who received the title of King of Rome.

After the economic crisis and military collapse, Napoleon abdicated in 1814 in favor of his legitimate son, but the winners declared the Bonapartes deposed and restored the power of the Bourbons in France. The Empress and son were separated from Napoleon and sent to Austria. The defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put an end to the power of Napoleon Bonaparte. His second abdication in favor of his son did not find support, and although the Paris legislature recognized Napoleon II as emperor in June 1815, he was never crowned and, in fact, never reigned.

From the age of 4, Napoleon Francois Joseph, nicknamed the Eaglet because the eagle was the heraldic symbol of the French emperor, grew up without a father. The mother was carried away by a new novel - Count Naiperg became her chosen one, from whom she gave birth to four children, and soon she was completely separated from her first son. In addition to the understandable psychological problems of a child deprived of parental attention, there were also difficulties of a political nature: the Eaglet was constantly under the supervision of the Austrian authorities and from childhood was the object of intrigue.

At the Austrian court, they made sure that the name of Napoleon was not mentioned at all, and his son was called by his middle name, in the German way - Franz. The eaglet was forced to forget French and speak only German. He was deprived of hereditary rights to the Duchy of Parma, but was granted the title of Duke of Reichstadt, after the name of one of the estates in Bohemia. He was brought up as an Austrian prince, he grew up in Schönbrunn Castle near Vienna, but despite his high position, he was a virtual prisoner at court. Members of the government did not take their eyes off him, because the Bonapartists had high hopes for Eaglet as a likely candidate for the French throne.

The young man was fond of military history, read a lot and dreamed of a military career and great deeds, but his abilities never showed up. His tutor wrote about him: Distrustful, perhaps because of his position, which he assessed very sensibly, he directed a close, searching look at people, knew how to persuade them to talk, observe them and recognize". At the age of 20, Eaglet was already in the rank of lieutenant colonel, but a year later he fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and died suddenly in 1832. For some time there were rumors that he was poisoned, but they were not confirmed.

The eaglet never fulfilled either his dreams or the hopes of the Bonapartists placed on him. There were no direct descendants of Napoleon I Bonaparte, and the French throne was occupied by Eaglet's cousin, Prince Louis Napoleon, who proclaimed himself Emperor Napoleon III in 1852. Eaglet was reunited with his father only after his death, when, by order of Hitler, his remains were transported to Paris and buried next to the grave of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon II became one of the most enigmatic and romantic figures in French history. His fate inspired Edmond Rostand to create the play in verse "Eaglet", which became the reference book of Marina Tsvetaeva, who in her youth idolized Napoleon and his son and worshiped them with such passion that she even replaced the icon in the icon case with a portrait of Napoleon. Eaglet is dedicated to a number of her poems.

Marie Louise of Austria was the last of.

The name of Napoleon Bonaparte is known to everyone, but few people remember that the emperor had children, in particular, a legitimate son and heir to the throne.
The youngest son of Napoleon Bonaparte, the only one born in a legal marriage, Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte lived a short life. He became heir to the throne and was proclaimed Emperor Napoleon II, but was never crowned. Despite his high origin, he was isolated from the French court and parents and actually became a prisoner at the Austrian court.

A great fate awaited him, but the Eaglet did not justify the hopes of the Bonapartists, having died at the age of 21.

Empress Marie Louise with her son

Thomas Lawrence. Napoleon II as a child

The young man was fond of military history, read a lot and dreamed of a military career and great deeds, but his abilities never showed up. His tutor wrote about him: "Distrustful, perhaps because of his position, which he assessed very sensibly, he directed a close, searching look at people, knew how to persuade them to talk, observe them and recognize them." At the age of 20, Eaglet was already in the rank of lieutenant colonel, but a year later he fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and died suddenly in 1832. For some time there were rumors that he was poisoned, but they were not confirmed.

Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt

Eaglet, Napoleon Francois Joseph

Eaglet, Napoleon Francois Joseph on his deathbed

In a dream, Saint Savva appeared to Eugene and asked him not to destroy the monastery. He promised that in this case, Eugene would return home alive, and his offspring would serve Russia. Everything came true "to the last comma."

Prince Eugene Beauharnais in France was called the second person after the emperor. Napoleon liked to tell that thanks to Eugene he met his future wife Josephine. To General Bonaparte, who was then acting commandant of Paris, a boy ran in, all in tears, and asked for the return of the sword of his executed father. Touched, Napoleon complied with the request. The next day the boy's mother, Madame Beauharnais, came to thank the general. Thus began one of the most brilliant novels in history.

Prediction

During the war of 1812, Prince Eugene wore the epaulettes of a general and commanded the 4th corps of the "great army". On the outskirts of Moscow, the general set up camp in Zvenigorod and spent the night in the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery. In a dream, an old man in a monastic cassock appeared to him and said: “Do not lead your army to destroy and plunder my monastery. If you fulfill my request, you will leave this great country safe and sound, and your offspring will still serve Russia.” Beauharnais hurried to the temple and was stunned. On the icon, he saw the Monk Savva, the patron saint of the monastery, who lived here 400 years ago. It was he who spoke to Eugene in a dream. On the same night, the prince forbade the soldiers to loot, sealed the temple with the relics of St. Savva and posted guards nearby.

After the war, the archimandrite of the monastery wrote in a report to the Holy Synod: “The relics of St. Savva are intact, as they were before the enemy.”

And Eugene Beauharnais returned home safe and sound. The heavens refused their protection to other associates of Napoleon. Judge for yourself. Mortier, who blew up the Moscow Kremlin during the French retreat, himself became a victim of the "infernal machine" (he was killed. - Ed.) During the assassination attempt on King Louis Philippe in Paris. Ney and Murat were shot. Marshal Bessieres was killed near Luzen, Marshal Poniatowski also died. Eugene was stripped of the title of Viceroy of Italy, but the title of Duke of Leuchtenberg remained, which he received after marrying the daughter of the King of Bavaria. Actually, the general returned to Bavaria after the defeat in the war of 1812.

Moving to Russia

Eugene's son Maximilian was destined to intermarry with the Russian imperial family and move to live in Russia. The details of how the second part of the prophecy came true, "AiF" was told by the historian, protodeacon Father George Kobro. He is a descendant of Russian emigrants of the first wave, lives in Bavaria and writes a book about the fate of the Leuchtenberg family. “In Bavaria, to relax on Lake Tegernsee, Emperor Nicholas I came with his family. Not far away was the estate of Eugene Beauharnais. His son, Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, was introduced to the Russian monarch and made such a pleasant impression on the emperor that Nicholas I promised:

“If one of my daughters likes you, I won't mind your marriage. Only on the condition that you stay in Russia,” says Father George. - So Maximilian received an invitation to celebrate the next anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. When he arrived, the first thing he asked was: “How can I get into the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery?” At court they were surprised: how did the Catholic Beauharnais know about the Orthodox monastery? “Before his death, my father took a word from me that if I ended up in Russia, I would definitely bow to the relics of St. Savva,” Maximilian explained. He made a pilgrimage to the monastery together with the family of the Russian emperor. And in 1839, the marriage of Maximilian with Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, the daughter of the emperor, took place. The young settled in St. Petersburg on Nevsky Prospekt. A descendant of Napoleon quickly learned Russian, became interested in mining. In marriage, six children were born, baptized in Orthodoxy.

200 years later

Maximilian died in the prime of life - after he caught a bad cold during one of the expeditions to the Urals. His undertakings were continued by the eldest son Nikolai, who headed the Imperial Mineralogical Society and the Imperial Technical Society. When he signed documents, his title occupied more than one line - Prince Romanovsky (in Russia the family was given a second Russian surname), the fourth Duke of Leuchtenberg, the fourth Prince of Beauharnais.

The Leuchtenberg family brought a lot of benefits to Russia. They developed science and culture, defended the country during the Turkish and First World Wars. “In the retinue of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II there were two representatives of the Leuchtenberg family - Georgy and Nikolai, both colonels. They made an attempt to free the emperor from captivity, - Father George continues the story. - After the revolution, the descendants of Beauharnais emigrated from Russia and settled on their estates in Bavaria. At the same time, they were burning with the idea of saving Russia from Bolshevism. In Bavaria, General Wrangel, General Krasnov, and the philosopher Ilyin stayed at the Zeeon Castle for a long time at the Leuchtenberg family. The Brotherhood of Russian Truth society was organized, it was headed by Georgy Leuchtenbergsky. In the middle of the twentieth century, the castles had to be sold, and the descendants of the Leuchtenberg family scattered around the world. In the Orthodox monastery of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is located near Paris in the town of Bussy-en-Aute, lives 87-year-old mother Elizabeth - in the world the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, from the Beauharnais family.

"AiF" managed to get through to Elizabeth's mother. She was struck by pure Russian: “I was born in Bavaria in our family estate. When Hitler came to power, we fled to Canada, then I returned to Europe. She took the tonsure thirty years ago. When I did this, I did not yet know about the prophecy of St. Savva. Only in 1991, going through the papers of the late grandfather Georgy Nikolaevich Leuchtenbergsky, did I find a small book called "Family Tradition", published in Russia before the revolution. In it, grandfather told about the incident in the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery. I really wanted to visit this place. In 1996, I succeeded.” So, almost 200 years after the prophecy, the descendant of the French Prince Eugene Beauharnais, the Orthodox nun Elizabeth, bowed to the relics of St. Savva.

Vodka according to the emperor

The Napoleonic Wars (1799 - 1815) tore 2 million young men from different countries of Europe and Africa from their usual affairs. What was left for them to do in between fights? Just drink bitter.

Denis Davydov, a competent officer, a talented poet and a drinker, wrote about the Russian hussars: “... I remember you too, / Drinking with ladles / And sitting around the fire / With red-gray noses!” In the French army, too, they did not always drink expensive wine. Finding after the battle among the dead their friend, infantrymen and cavalrymen usually escorted him on his last journey with the words "You won't get drunk anymore." One French corporal wrote: “They give us vodka so that we pour it into the water for disinfection; but you can probably guess that we do this operation infrequently.

In 1806, once again beaten Prussia received the French victors in Berlin. Local residents were obliged to supply the soldiers with wine - at the rate of a bottle per day per brother. Wine in Germany was expensive, and it almost ended in a riot. With great difficulty it was possible to persuade the French to "catch up with beer." As a result, an ordinary Frenchman received soup and vodka for breakfast. For lunch - soup, 300 grams of meat and half a bottle (610 ml) of beer. For dinner - vegetables and another half a damask.

And here is the menu of the Russian army of the same period: 2-3 times a week, half a pound (a little more than 200 g) of fresh meat, corned beef or fish and a cup (about 100 ml) of “bread wine”, that is, vodka. But state allowances, as often happens in Russia, did not always keep pace with the deadline. In 1807, thousands of hungry Russian soldiers terrorized the population of Prussia. General Yermolov recalled: “Until 11 o’clock in the morning we fought with a moderate loss, but on the way we found scattered barrels of wine, which the squires walking with the army left to lighten their carts (it was after the defeat at Preussisch-Eylau. - Ed.). It was impossible to keep the people whom fatigue and rather severe cold most disposed to wine, and in the shortest possible time four of the regiments of chasseurs became so drunk that there were no means to maintain the slightest order.

Incredibly, it happened to the Russians and the French in those years to sit down at the same table. The conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit (1807) was marked by a grandiose booze. That evening it was impossible to understand who was who: the French, having exchanged hats, uniforms and even shoes with Russians, walked in the field and around the city, shouting: "Long live the emperors!" And this was shortly after the battle of Austerlitz, lost by the Russian army!

Sergey OSIPOV