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Pauline Bonaparte Borghese

1780 – 1825

About

Sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was first married to one of his generals Charles Leclerc and accompanied him to Haiti in 1802 to remove General Toussaint L'Ouverture from power. Her husband died of yellow fever later that year and Pauline was remarried by Napoleon to Camillo Borghese. A large portion of the Borghese art collection was purchased at a discount for the Lourvre thanks to this marriage. Pauline is notable for posing for a partially nude sculpture by Antonio Canova which caused quite a stir. Pauline was known for her affairs and eccentricities and soon grew apart from her husband who led a separate life. In 1806 Napoleon made Pauline Princess and Duchess of Guastalla, however he soon sold the Duchy to Parma. Pauline fell out of favor for a time due to her hostility towards Napoleon's second wife Empress Marie Louise, however after his fall from power Pauline proved to be the sibling most loyal to him. Pauline moved to Elba where Napoleon was exiled where she used her own assets to assist him and was the only Bonaparte sibling to visit him. After Waterloo Pauline moved to Rome under the protection of Pope Pius VII (who Napoleon had once imprisoned and who presided at his coronation, notably not crowning him). In 1825 she got the pope to persuade Camillo to return to her but she died of stomach cancer as her brother is believed to have had just three months later.