Pauline Bonaparte

Pauline Borghese ( born October 20, 1780 in Ajaccio, † June 9, 1825 in Florence), originally called Paoletta Buonaparte, Duchess of Guastalla, was the favorite sister of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Life

Raised in Ajaccio on Corsica, Pauline fled at the age of 13 years together with her mother and her siblings to France. In Paris, her brother married her to the General Charles Leclerc d' Ostin and sent the pair to San Domingo, to present-day Haiti to quell a slave rebellion. Regardless of her infidelity she used her husband when he fatally ill with yellow fever in 1801. From this marriage was born the son Dermide Leclerc ( 1798-1806 ).

1803 married Pauline, again at the instigation of her brother standing in the French service officer Camillo Borghese, afterwards Duke of Guastalla and governor-general of Piedmont. She followed the request of her brother, especially to outdo her sister Joséphine de Beauharnais by the title of an older aristocratic family. This competition was Pauline also very wasteful with the money, which Napoleon had at its disposal. A scandal sparked Pauline Borghese, as they 1807 the artist Canova unclothed model sat for his marble sculpture " Resting Venus ". However, the work of art widely aroused admiration.

She accompanied her brother Napoleon - the only one of his sisters - into exile to Elba. After the reign of 100 days, however, she lived in Rome and Florence, separated from her husband.

Getting old Pauline suffered some illness and was not able to visit her brother on St. Helena. With 44 years she died of cancer. She was buried in the tomb Borghese.

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