Charles Léon

{{Infobox noble
, name = Charles Léon Denuelle de la Plaigne
, title = Count Léon
, image = Comte Charles Léon Denuelle, fils de Napoleon.jpg
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, succession =
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, spouse = Françoise Fanny Jouet
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, noble family = Bonaparte
, house-type =
, father = Napoleon Bonaparte
, mother = Louise Catherine Eléonore Denuelle de la Plaigne
, birth_name =
, birth_date = 13 December 1806
, birth_place = Paris, France
, christening_date =
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, death_date = {{Death date and age, 1881, 04, 14, 1806, 12, 13, df=y
, death_place = Pontoise, Paris, France
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Charles Léon Denuelle de la Plaigne, 1st Count Léon{{cite book , last1=Stacton , first1=David , title=Charles Léon , date=1966 , publisher=Simon and Schuster , location=France , isbn=9780671098605 , page=310 (13 December 1806 – 14 April 1881) was an illegitimate son of Emperor Napoleon of France and his mistress Eléonore Denuelle de La Plaigne. Brought up in France, Léon began a military career in Saint-Denis, where he was head of a battalion of the national guard.

Admirative of his father, he tried to keep the memory of the First Empire alive by organizing several commemorations. After the fall of his cousin Napoleon III and of the Second Empire, Léon retired to Pontoise and died in poverty.

Biography

Charles Léon Denuelle de la Plaigne was born on 13 December 1806 at No. 29, Rue de la Victoire, 9th arrondissement of Paris, Paris, France, to Napoleon and Napoleon's sister Caroline Murat's maid, Louise Catherine Eléonore Denuelle de la Plaigne.{{cite book , last1=Glover , first1=Gareth , title=Napoleon in 100 Objects , date=2020 , publisher=Frontline Books , isbn=9781526731371{{cite book , last1=Bonaparte , first1=Queen Hortense Eugénie Cécile , title=The Memoirs of Queen Hortense, Volume 1 , date=2016 , publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing , isbn=9781786258380 Napoleon chose his second name of Léon.{{cite book , last1=Bedei , first1=Philippe , title=MINI DICTIONNAIRE DE L'HISTOIRE DE FRANCE: TOME 5 , date=2021 , publisher=BoD - Books on Demand , isbn=9782322219667 , page=131 He was Napoleon's first son, but was entrusted to a tutor and initially brought up in ignorance of his heritage. Napoleon had thought for a long time that he was sterile because his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, who already had two children from a previous marriage, failed to get pregnant. Léon's birth was of "undeniable political importance" since it showed that Napoleon was in fact not sterile. Napoleon considered adopting Léon, but realized his other illegitimate children would have claim to the crown and therefore abandoned the idea.{{cite journal , title=The Three Sons of Napoleon , journal=The English Illustrated Magazine , date=April–September 1906 , volume=25 , issue=25 , page=127 Although he did not legitimize Léon, Napoleon acknowledged Léon as his son and gave him a pension of 25,000 francs a year and rights to the profits on wood sold from Moselle.{{cite book , last1=Tsouras , first1=Peter G. , title=Napoleon Victorious!: An Alternative History of the Battle of Waterloo , date=2017 , publisher=Greenhill Books , isbn=9781784382117 , page=200{{cite book , last1=Vizetelly , first1=Ernest Alfred , title=The Court of the Tuileries, 1852-1870: Its Organization, Chief Personages, Splendour, Frivolity, and Downfall , date=1907 , publisher=Chatto & Windus , location=France , page=179

Léon – short for Napoleon – was raised away from the imperial court, but always under his father's protection. The Emperor made him an heir in his will, and gave him the title of Count.

In 1832, Léon shot an orderly of the Duke of Wellington's, Charles Hesse, in a duel over losing 16,000 francs to Hesse in a card game.{{cite book , last1=Roberts , first1=Andrew , title=Napoleon: A Life , date=2014 , publisher=Penguin , isbn=9780698176287 The writer Gareth Glover stated Léon was "completely unmanageable" in adulthood and became a "hardened gambler", having to go to debtors' prison twice. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote he was an "argumentative drunken wastrel".

He married in Paris on 2 June 1862 Françoise Fanny Jouet (Brussels, 14 January 1831 – Vitz-sur-Authie, 12 May 1899), with whom he had four children live past infancy (sons Charles, Gaston and Fernand; and daughter Charlotte).{{cite news , last1=Hennebicq , first1=Maurice , title=Le petit-fils de l'Empereur , url=https://www.sudouest.fr/2011/11/02/le-petit-fils-de-l-empereur-542672-3415.php?nic , access-date=September 23, 2021 , publisher=Sud Ouest , date=February 11, 2011 , archive-date=September 24, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924165551/https://www.sudouest.fr/2011/11/02/le-petit-fils-de-l-empereur-542672-3415.php?nic , url-status=live

He died "poverty-stricken" in Pontoise on 14 April 1881. He is buried in a mass grave in Pontoise, Paris.{{cite web , title=Le fils de Napoléon enterré à Pontoise , url=https://www.ville-pontoise.fr/histoire/fils-napoleon-enterre-a-pontoise , website=Pontoise , date=6 April 2016 , access-date=September 23, 2021 , archive-date=September 24, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924165552/https://www.ville-pontoise.fr/histoire/fils-napoleon-enterre-a-pontoise , url-status=live

Descendants

Léon’s daughter Charlotte Mesnard, who was interviewed in 1921 at the age of 55, said her father had a striking resemblance to Napoleon. She also said that two of Léon's sons and her own son were killed in action in the First World War.{{Cite web , url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/04/23/109803978.pdf , title=Archived copy , access-date=June 12, 2018 , archive-date=January 3, 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103181630/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/04/23/109803978.pdf , url-status=live Comte Charles Léon, Léon's grandson, died in 1994.{{cite book , last1=Weider , first1=Ben , last2=Forshufvud , first2=Sten , title=Assassination at St. Helena Revisited , date=1995 , publisher=Wiley , isbn=9780471126775 , page=471

* Charles Jouet ( Île-Saint-Denis, 20 May 1854 – Île-Saint-Denis, 12 April 1855)
* Charles Jouet, took the name Charles Léon, 2nd Count Léon (Île-Saint-Denis, 24 October 1855 – Carupano, Venezuela, 4 August 1894), married in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 27 December 1888 Jeanne-Marie Elegeert (Ghent, 2 February 1867 – Metz, 22 October 1925), without issue
* Gaston Jouet, took the name Gaston Léon, 3rd Count Léon (Paris, 1 June 1857 – Montaut, 3 January 1937), married firstly in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges on 8 December 1883 Marie-Ernestine Fiot ( Ruffec, 18 April 1862 – La Rochelle, 11 July 1909) and married secondly in Paris on 5 January 1911 Marie Irma Germain ( Saulxures-sur-Moselotte, 4 April 1879 – Montaut, 11 November 1969), and had:
** Fernande Léon (Juvisy-sur-Orge, 5 October 1884 – Bordeaux, 10 November 1966), married in Paris on 9 January 1912 and divorced in 1943 René Brisart (Valenciennes, 4 August 1888 – Toulon, 5 September 1981), and had:
*** Andrée Brisart (Paris, 7 November 1912 – Carces, 30 January 1992), unmarried and without issue
*** Jean-Jacques Brisart (Paris, 16 February 1915 – Pessac, 11 January 1990), married in Bordeaux on 12 November 1938 Paulette Moga (Pessac, Gorinde, 7 April 1918 – 2004), and had:
**** Huguette Nicole Brisart (Bordeaux, 17 August 1940), married firstly in Pessac, Gorinde, on 16 June 1963 Lucien Santacreu ( Douera, Algeria, 10 February 1937), married secondly in 1987 Jean-Pierre Hoschtettler (1943 – 2002) and married thirdly in 2008 Serge Dallet-Boy (1938 - ?), and had:
***** Florence Santacreu (Bordeaux, 7 January 1964), unmarried and without issue
***** Jean-Luc Bernard Santacreu (Bordeaux, 14 January 1966), unmarried and without issue
*** Guy Brisart (Villiers-sur-Marne, 4 December 1918 – 1996), married in Merignac on 4 June 1938 and divorced in 1955 Pétronille Camus ( Moulis-en-Médoc, 16 March 1915 – 1996), and had:
**** Jean-Claude Brisart (Bordeaux, 21 November 1938), unmarried and without issue
**** Monique Brisart (Moulis-en-Médoc, 25 June 1945 – 14 July 2024), married on 17 July 1965 Bernard Jean Paul Pagès ( Barbaste, 13 February 1942), and had:
***** Marie-Laure Élisabeth Pagès (Suresnes, 7 August 1972), married civilly in Agen on 19 and religiously in Moirax on 20 September 1997 Pierre Louis Roger Dieuzeide (Agen, 13 January 1967), and had:
****** Amaury Paul Bernard Dieuzeide (Paris, 1999)
****** Grégoire Charles Alexandre Dieuzeide (Paris, 2001)
****** Constance Marie Éléonore Dieuzeide (Agen, 2005)
****** Enguerrand Dieuzeide (2008)
** Gaston Léon, 4th Count Léon (Savonnières, 21 November 1886 – Raincy, 17 January 1976), married in Montreuil-sous-Bois on 15 December 1910 Raymonde Viénot (Montreuil-sous-Bois, 14 March 1887 – Montfermeil, 20 August 1979), without issue
** Henri-Albert Léon (Tours, 7 May 1889 – La Croix-en-Touraine, 18 July 1889)
** René Léon (Paris, 15 December 1890 – Tours, 12 July 1891)
** Jeanne-Germaine Léon (Paris, 23 March 1892 – Paris, 1 April 1892)
** Charles Léon, 5th Count Léon (Paris, 15 January 1911 – Bry-sur-Marne, 23 May 1994), married in Villiers-sur-Marne on 13 August 1932 Yvonne Haquin (Bussy-Saint-Georges, 2 April 1909 – Férolles-Attilly, 1 February 1991), and had:
*** Monique Léon (Villiers-sur-Marne, 4 September 1934), married in Paris civilly on 21 and religiously on 23 October 1961 Jean-Claude Charasse (Paris, 23 January 1936), and had:
**** Christine Charasse ( Clichy, 20 January 1963), had one son by ... Masse, married in Savigny-sur-Orge on 20 May 1995 François Besse (Paris, 20 June 1967), and had:
***** Jérémy Charasse-Masse (Annecy, 24 January 1984), by Aurore Consuelo Marcelle Contant (Nogent-sur-Marne, 30 April 1983) had:
****** Anthony José François Charasse-Masse (Provins, 30 April 2010)
***** Morgane Besse (Longjumeau, 26 March 1991)
* Fernand Léon (Île-Saint-Denis, 26 November 1861 – Paris, 9 December 1918), married in Paris on 14 April 1892 and divorced Jeanne Loreau (Rethel, 17 July 1866 - ?), without issue
* Charlotte Léon (Île-Saint-Denis, 17 January 1867 – Le Plessis-Robinson, 25 April 1946), married in Carnot, Algeria, 3 August 1895 Armand Mesnard ( Lupsault, 24 June 1867 – Aigre, 12 September 1938), and had:
** Daniel Mesnard ( Sérignan, 25 August 1896 – killed in action, Reims, 17 July 1917), unmarried and without issue
** Léone Mesnard ( Vitz-sur-Authie, 18 April 1899 – Paris, 26 October 1970), married in Paris on 31 March 1921 Ulysse Repiquet ( Pourlans, 6 July 1895 – 1 April 1982), and had:
*** Colette Andrée Respiquet (Paris, 10 October 1922 – Lupsault, 7 June 2009), married in Le Plessis-Robinson on 10 July 1948 Richard Tillie (Paris, 27 October 1924 – Toulouse, 28 November 2013), and had:
**** Patricia Tillie (Paris, 8 June 1949), married in Le Plessis-Robinson on 4 June 1971 and divorced in 1994 Christian Pierre Couvreux (Paris, 24 November 1950), and had:
***** Fleur Warda Couvreux (Paris, 10 September 1977), married in Ceyreste on 26 June 2004 Étienne Côme Berthier (Bourg-en-Bresse, 17 September 1976), and had:
****** Titouan Gabriel Théodose Berthier (Toulouse, 2007)
****** Anouk Berthier (2010)
***** Karol Ulysse Clément Couvreux (Paris, 9 December 1979)
**** Yannick Tillie (Paris, 2 February 1951), married in Aubin{{dn, date=May 2025 on 3 November 2007 Vincent Ricci (Algiers, Algeria, 23 January 1953), and had:
***** Éléonore Céline Madeleine Ricci (Bordeaux, 23 August 1979), born before her parents' marriage, by Grégory Jean Lannes (Belfort, 6 August 1979) had:
****** Lena Marie Emma Lannes ( Pau, 14 December 2008)
***** Emmanuelle Charlotte Vinciane Ricci (Clamart, 24 December 1982), born before her parents' marriage
**** Isabelle Hélène Françoise Tillie (Paris, 24 March 1954), twin with the below, married firstly in Lupsault on 30 August 1973 and divorced in 1980 Antoine Joseph Zerlini, and married secondly in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, 27 March 2000 Antoine Vincent Marie Joseph David-Calvet (Aix-en-Provence, 17 February 1961), and had:
***** Théo Quentin Maël David-Calvet (Paris, 27 February 1987)
***** Chloé Camille Garance David-Calvet (Paris, 14 February 1990)
**** Marie José Joyce Charlotte Tillie (Paris, 24 March 1954), twin with the above, married firstly civilly in Le Plessis-Robinson on 16 December 1978 and religiously in Lupsault on 9 September 1979 and divorced in 1991 Dominique Pierre Touraine (Choisy-le-Roi, 9 September 1952), and married secondly in Lupsault on 24 September 2011 Raoul Hector Monti, and had:
***** Anne-Laure Sylvie Désirée Touraine (Paris, 8 May 1980), married in Lupsault on 19 July 2003 Mickael Régis Payant (Angoulême, 12 February 1979), and had:
****** Élie Jacky Dom Payant (Niort, 15 June 2005)
****** Louane Marie Jeanne Payant ( Saint-Michel, 25 August 2008)
***** Aude Mélanie Touraine (Paris, 6 February 1982)
* Fanny Léon (Île-Saint-Denis, 25 November 1867 – Île-Saint-Denis, 3 February 1868)

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel
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, boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
, boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
, boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
, boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
, boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
, 1= 1. Charles Léon Denuelle de La Plaigne, Comte Léon
, 2= 2. Napoleon Bonaparte
, 3= 3. Eléonore Denuelle de La Plaigne
, 4= 4. Carlo Maria Buonaparte
, 5= 5. Maria Letizia Ramolino
, 6= 6. Dominique Denuelle de La Plaigne
, 7= 7. Françoise Charlotte Eléonore Couprie
, 8= 8. Giuseppe Maria Buonaparte
, 9= 9. Maria Saveria Paravicini
, 10= 10. Giovanni Geronimo Ramolino
, 11= 11. Angela Maria Pietrasanta
, 16= 16. Sebastiano Nicola Buonaparte
, 17= 17. Maria Anna Tusoli
, 18= 18. Giuseppe Maria Paravicini
, 19= 19. Maria Angela Salineri
, 20= 20. Giovanni Agostino Ramolino
, 21= 21. Angela Maria Peri
, 22= 22. Giuseppe Pietrasanta
, 23= 23. Maria Giuseppa Malerba

Further reading

* ''La descendance naturelle de Napoleon I: Le comte Léon; Le comte Waleswki''{{cite book , last1=Valynseele , first1=Joseph , title=La descendance naturelle de Napoleon I: Le comte Léon; Le comte Waleswki , date=1964 (translated in English): ''The natural descent of Napoleon 1st : Count Leon, Count Waleswki'' by Joseph Valynseele
*''Le Comte Léon, bâtard infernal de Napoléon''{{cite book , last1=Vebret , first1=Joseph , title=Le Comte Léon, bâtard infernal de Napoléon , date=2018 , publisher=De Borée , language=French (translated in English): ''Le Comte Léon, infernal bastard of Napoleon'' by Joseph Verbet
* ''Napoleon's Love Child: A Biography of Count Leon''{{cite book , last1=Dodds , first1=Dennis Walton , title=Napoleon's Love Child: A Biography of Count Leon , date=1974 , publisher=Kimber , isbn=9780718303334 by Dennis Walton Dodds, ISBN 9780718303334

References

{{Authority control
{{Napoleon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Charles
1806 births
1881 deaths
Charles Leon
Illegitimate children of Napoleon
Sons of emperors
Sons of kings