Marie Julie Clary (26 December 1771 – 7 April 1845), was Queen of Naples, then of Spain and the Indies, as the wife of

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...

, who was King of Naples from January 1806 to June 1808, and later King of Spain and the Spanish West Indies from 25 June 1808 to June 1813.

Early life

Marie Julie Clary was born in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, France, the daughter of François Clary (Marseille, St Ferreol, 24 February 1725 – Marseille, 20 January 1794), a wealthy

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

manufacturer and merchant of Irish heritage, and his second wife (married on 26 June 1759) Françoise Rose Somis (Marseille, St. Ferreol, 30 August 1737 –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, 28 January 1815). Her sister Désirée Clary, six years younger, became Queen of Sweden and Norway when her husband, Marshal Bernadotte, was crowned King Charles XIV John of Sweden (Charles III John of Norway). Their brother, Nicolas Joseph Clary, was created 1st Comte Clary and married Anne Jeanne Rouyer (their granddaughter would be the first wife of Joachim, 4th Prince Murat).

Marriage

On 1 August 1794, at Cuges (

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

department), she married

, elder brother of

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. She accompanied her spouse to Italy when he became ambassador to Rome in 1797, and then settled with him in Paris in 1800. In 1804, when her brother-in-law Napoleon made himself emperor, he named his brother Joseph Imperial Prince, making Julie an Imperial Princess. During the coronation of the emperor and empress the same year, Julie was given the task of carrying the train of the empress with her sisters-in-law. Although Julie was reportedly able to behave in accordance with court etiquette and "royal formality", she preferred to live a private life surrounded by her family and relatives in her chateau in

Mortefontaine, Oise Mortefontaine is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The castle of Mortefontaine

Queen of Spain

In 1808, Joseph was made King of Spain and Julie thereby formally became Queen of Spain. She was the first queen of Spain not of royal birth. However, she did not join him when he traveled to Spain and in fact never lived there, preferring to remain in her residence in Mortefontaine. She was kept informed from Vichy and Plombières about her husband's adulterous relationships in Spain. In France, she was regarded as the representative of Joseph and his kingdom and ceremoniously treated as the queen of Spain at the French Imperial court of Napoleon. She effectively functioned as an ambassador and informer of Joseph and upheld a political correspondence with him regarding Napoleon's plans of Spain, warning Joseph that he should make precautions necessary to control Spain, its unity, finances and army himself, as Napoleon would never allow Spain to be too independent. In Spain, she was referred to as "Reina ausente" ('The Absent Queen').

The fall of Napoleon

Napoleon's army was defeated at the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. During the war, Julie gave refuge to her sister Desirée Clary, who by her marriage to the Crown Prince of Sweden was in fact an enemy citizen, as well as her sister-in-law Catharina of Württemberg, in her home at Mortefontaine, and when the allied troops took Paris in 1814, Julie herself took refuge in the home of her sister Desirée in Paris. After the abdication of Napoleon, Julie bought the castle of Prangins in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, near

Lake Léman , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

. During the Hundred Days in 1815, Julie was among those who welcomed Napoleon to the Palace in Paris; she dressed in an Imperial court robe, alongside his former stepdaughter Hortense. After the Battle of Waterloo and the second downfall of Napoleon, the members of the Bonaparte family were exiled, and Joseph bought a property in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, near the Delaware River, with the proceeds of the sale of Spanish paintings taken from ransacked Madrid palaces, castles, monasteries and town halls; Julie herself, however, did not join him there, but left with her daughters to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, where she stayed for six years, separated from her French-American husband. In 1816, her sister Desiree, who was Crown Princess of Sweden, wished to bring Julie with her upon her return to Sweden; her husband the crown prince, however, thought this unwise, as Julie was a member of the Bonaparte family and her presence might be taken as a sign that he sided with the deposed Napoleon, and in the end, this came to nothing.
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Later life

Coat of Arms of Julie Clary as Queen Consort of Spain

Julie settled in Brussels in 1821, and then in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, at the Palazzo Serristori. She did not socialize with the French people. She was described as charming, quiet, dignified and peaceful and generally well liked. In 1823, she parted with her sister Desiree, who became queen of Sweden. In 1840, Joseph joined Julie in Florence. In spite of his adultery, she referred to Joseph as "my beloved husband". Joseph Bonaparte died on 28 July 1844, aged 76. Julie died eight months later in

, on 7 April 1845, at the age of seventy-three. They were buried side by side at the

Basilica of Santa Croce The (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 meters south-east of the Duomo. The ...

. In 1862, the self-proclaimed French Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

brought Joseph Bonaparte's remains back to France and had them inhumed to the right of his younger brother, the Emperor

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. The remains of Julie are still at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence beside those of her daughter, Charlotte, who died in Lucca, in Italy, on 3 March 1839, aged 36, giving birth to a stillborn child.

Children

Joseph and Julie Bonaparte had three daughters: * Julie Joséphine Bonaparte (1796). * Zénaïde Laetitia Julie Bonaparte (1801–1854), had twelve children. *

Charlotte Napoléone Bonaparte Charlotte Napoléone Bonaparte (31 October 1802 – 2 March 1839) was the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Emperor Napoleon I, and Julie Clary. She was active as an artist. Life After the fall of her uncle Emperor Napoleon in ...

(1802–1839), married in 1826 Napoléon Louis, eldest son of

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French ...

, King of Holland, and

Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (; , ; 10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Queen consort of Holland. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Hortense later married Napo ...

, widowed in 1830.

References

* Manuel Ríos Mazcarelle. ''Reinas de España, Casa de Borbón, I'', Alderabán, El legado de la historia, Madrid, 1999. 1ª edición, , 291 pages, (Spanish). * Juan balanso. Julia Bonaparte, reina de España, Planeta, 1991 - 170 sidor, 1st edition, , 2001 2 upplagan, {{DEFAULTSORT:Clary, Julie 1771 births 1845 deaths Julie Clary Royal consorts of Naples Julie Clary People from Marseille Clary family