The House of Bonaparte (originally ''Buonaparte'') is a former imperial and royal European

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

of French and Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, the son of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

n nobleman

Carlo Buonaparte Carlo Maria Buonaparte (27 March 1746 – 24 February 1785), also known as Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Charles-Marie Bonaparte, was a Corsican attorney and politician, best known as the father of Napoleon Bonaparte and grandfather of Napoleon ...

and Letizia Buonaparte (née Ramolino). Napoleon was a French

military leader Military ranks is a system of hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military lines, such as youth groups, chivalric orders, religious orders, an ...

who rose to power during the French Revolution and who, in 1804, transformed the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

into the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

, five years after his ''coup d'état'' of November 1799 (18 Brumaire). Napoleon and the ''

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

'' had to fight against every major European power (except for the ones he was allied with, including Denmark-Norway) and dominated continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

through a series of military victories during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He installed members of his family on the thrones of client states, expanding the power of the dynasty. The House of Bonaparte formed the Imperial House of France during the French Empire, together with some non-Bonaparte family members. In addition to holding the title of

Emperor of the French Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First French Empire and the Second French Empire. The emperor of France was an absolute monarch. Details After rising to power by ...

, the Bonaparte dynasty held various other titles and territories during the

, including the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

, the Kingdom of the Spain and the Indies, the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

, the

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( (contemporary), (modern); ) was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican governmen ...

, and the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. The dynasty held power for around a decade until the Napoleonic Wars began to take their toll. Making very powerful enemies, such as

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, as well as royalist (particularly Bourbon) restorational movements in France, Spain, the

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land are ...

, and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, the dynasty eventually collapsed due to the final defeat of

at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty by the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

. During the reign of

, the Imperial Family consisted of the Emperor's immediate relations – his wife, son, siblings, and some other close relatives, namely his brother-in-law

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

, his uncle

Joseph Fesch Joseph Cardinal Fesch, Prince of the Empire (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of h ...

, and his stepson

Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...

. Between 1852 and 1870, there was a

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

, when a member of the Bonaparte dynasty again ruled France:

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, the youngest son of

Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, 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 c ...

. However, during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–1871, the dynasty was again ousted from the Imperial Throne. Since that time, there has been a series of pretenders. Supporters of the Bonaparte family's claim to the throne of France are known as

Bonapartists Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...

. Current head

Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, Prince of Montfort (born ''Jean-Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Napoléon Bonaparte''; 11 July 1986) is a French businessman and the disputed head of the Imperial House of France, and as such the heir of ...

has a Bourbon mother.

Italian origins

The Bonaparte (originally ) family were

patricians The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

in the Italian towns of

Sarzana Sarzana (, ; ) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is east of La Spezia, on the railway to Pisa, at the point where the railway to Parma diverges to the ...

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at a historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of the E ...

, and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. The name derives from

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''buona'' ("good") and ''parte'' ("part" or "side"). In Italian, the phrase "buona parte" is used to identify a fraction of considerable, but undefined, size in a . Gianfaldo Buonaparte was the first known Buonaparte at Sarzana around 1200. His descendant Giovanni Buonaparte in 1397 married Isabella Calandrini, a cousin of later cardinal

Filippo Calandrini Filippo Calandrini (1403 – 18 July 1476) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and half-brother of Pope Nicholas V. Biography He was born in 1403 in Genoese Sarzana (now in the region of Liguria), a town located in ancient Lunigiana, a key ...

. Giovanni became mayor of

and was named commissioner of the

Lunigiana The Lunigiana () or Lunesana is a historical territory of Italy that today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, ...

Giovanni Maria Visconti Gian Maria Visconti (or Giovanni Maria; 7 September 1388 – 16 May 1412) was the second Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He was known to be cruel and was eventually assassinated. He had no child ...

in 1408. His daughter, Agnella Berni, was the great-grandmother of Italian poet

Francesco Berni Francesco Berni Francesco Berni (1497/98 – 26 May 1535) was an Italian poet. He is credited for beginning what is now known as " Bernesque poetry", a serio-comedic type of poetry with elements of satire. Biography Life Berni was born 1497 o ...

and their great-grandson Francesco Buonaparte was an equestrian

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

at the service of the Genoese

Bank of Saint George The Bank of Saint George ( or informally as ''Ufficio di San Giorgio'' or ''Banco'') was a financial institution of the Republic of Genoa. It was founded on 23 April 1407 to consolidate the public debt, which had been escalating due to the war ...

. In 1490, Francesco Buonaparte went to the island of

, which was controlled by the bank. In 1493, he married the daughter of Guido da Castelletto, representative of the Bank of Saint George in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

, Corsica. Most of their descendants during subsequent generations were members of the Ajaccio town council. Napoleon's father,

, received a

patent of nobility The patent of nobility, also letters of nobility (always ), or diploma of nobility documented the legal act of ennoblement (granting rights of a nobleman to a "new man" and his family). The ennoblement was an event of ultimate importance in a feuda ...

from the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

in 1771. There also existed a Buonaparte family in

; however, its eventual relation with the Sarzana and San Miniato families is unknown. Jacopo Buonaparte of San Miniato was a friend and advisor to

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

. Jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the sack of Rome, which is one of the most important historical documents recounting that event. Two of Jacopo's nephews, Pier Antonio Buonaparte and Giovanni Buonaparte, however, took part in the 1527 Medici rebellion, after which they were banished from Florence and later were restored by

Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence Alessandro de' Medici (22 July 1510 – 6 January 1537), nicknamed "il Moro" due to his dark complexion, Duke of Penne and the first Duke of the Florentine Republic (from 1532), was ruler of Florence from 1530 to his death in 1537. The first Me ...

. Jacopo's brother Benedetto Buonaparte maintained political neutrality. The San Miniato branch extinguished with Jacopo in 1550. The last member of the Florence family was a canon named Gregorio Bonaparte, who died in 1803, leaving Napoleon as heir. A Buonaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in

. A second tomb, the ''Chapelle Impériale'', was built by Napoleon III in Ajaccio 1857. Blason fam fr Bonaparte ornamented.svg, Coat of arms of the Buonaparte of Sarzana Coat of arms of th Bonaparte family in San Miniato.svg, Coat of arms of the Buonaparte of San Miniato Blason fam it Firenze Santa Maria Novella.svg, Coat of arms of the Buonaparte of Florence

Imperial House of France

In 1793

formally seceded from France and sought protection from the British government, prompting

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; or ; ; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Republic of Genoa, Genoese and later Kingd ...

to compel the Bonapartes to relocate to the mainland.

is the most prominent name associated with the Bonaparte family because he conquered much of Europe during the early 19th century. Due to his indisputable popularity in France both among the people and in the army, he staged the Coup of 18 Brumaire and overthrew the Directory with the help of his brother

Lucien Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (; born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was a French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to ...

, president of the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

. Napoleon then oversaw the creation of a new Constitution that made him the First Consul of France on 10 November 1799. On 2 December 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French and ruled from 1804 to 1814, and again in 1815 during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

after his return from Elba. Following his conquest of most of Western Europe, Napoleon I made his elder brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

first King of Naples and then of Spain, his younger brother Louis King of Holland (subsequently forcing his abdication in 1810 after his failure to subordinate Dutch interests to those of France), and his youngest brother Jérôme as King of Westphalia, a short-lived realm created from several states of northwestern Germany. Napoleon's son Napoléon François Charles Joseph was made

King of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...

and was later styled as Napoleon II by loyalists of the dynasty, though he only ruled for two weeks after his father's abdication. Louis-Napoléon, son of Louis, was President of France and then Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870, reigning as

. His son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial, died fighting the Zulus in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, today the South African province of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

. With his death, the family lost much of its remaining political appeal, though claimants continue to assert their right to the imperial title. A political movement for Corsican independence surfaced in the 1990s which included a Bonapartist restoration in its programme.

Crowns held by the family

Emperors of the French

(1804–1814, 1815), also

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

(1805–1814) and Emperor in Elba (1814–1815) and Co-Prince of Andorra (1804–1814, 1815) *

Napoleon II Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...

(1815), styled as King of Rome from birth, but never reigned and also

Duke of Reichstadt Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, daughter of Emperor Francis I of ...

1818–1832, but never visited the town *

(1852–1870), also Co-Prince of Andorra (1852–1870)

Kings of Holland

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

(1806–1810) * Louis II (1810), also Grand Duke of Berg (1809–1813)

King of Naples

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) * Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

(1806–1808)

King of Westphalia

* Jérôme Napoleon I (1807–1813)

King of Spain

(1808–1813)

Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Elisa Bonaparte Maria Anna Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi Levoy ( French: ''Marie Anne Elisa Bonaparte''; 3 January 1777 – 7 August 1820), better known as Elisa Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess and sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was Princess of Lucca ...

(1809–1814), also Princess of Lucca and Piombino (1805–1814)

Princess and Duchess of Guastalla

Pauline Bonaparte Paula Maria Bonaparte Leclerc Borghese (, ; 20 October 1780 – 9 June 1825), better known as Pauline Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess, the first sovereign Duchess of Guastalla, and the princess consort of Sulmona and Rossano. She was th ...

(1806)

Heads of the House of Bonaparte (since 1852)

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

(1852–1873) * Napoléon IV Eugène (1873–1879), son of Napoléon III * Napoléon V Victor (1879–1926), grandson of Napoléon I's youngest brother, Jérôme * Napoléon VI Louis (1926–1997), son of Napoléon V Victor * Disputed since 1997: ** Napoléon VII Charles (1997–present), son of Napoléon VI Louis ** Napoléon VII Jean-Christophe (1997–present), grandson of Napoléon VI Louis

Family tree

Family tree list

''Note: Bold for common names''
Carlo-Maria (

, 1746–

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, 1785) married Maria Letizia Ramolino (Ajaccio, 1750–Rome, 1836) in 1764. He was a minor official in the local courts. They had eight children: # Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte ( Corte, 1768–

, 1844), King of Naples, then King of Spain, married

Julie Clary Marie Julie Clary (26 December 1771 – 7 April 1845), also known as Julie Bonaparte, was Queen of Naples, then of Spain and the Indies, as the wife of Joseph Bonaparte, who was King of Naples from January 1806 to June 1808, and later King ...

## Julie Joséphine Bonaparte (1796–1796) ## Zénaïde Laetitia Julie Bonaparte (1801–1854) ## Charlotte Napoléone Bonaparte (1802–1839) # Napoléon (I) Bonaparte (1769–1821) Emperor of the French: Married (i) Joséphine de Beauharnais; no issue. Adopted Eugène and

Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (; , ; 10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Kingdom of Holland, Queen of Holland as the wife of King Louis Bonaparte. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphi ...

. Married (ii)

Marie Louise of Austria Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French a ...

; ## Napoléon (II) François Joseph Charles Bonaparte (1811–1832), Prince Imperial, King of Rome, Prince of Parma, son of Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria (of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

dynasty), Empress consort, then Duchess of Parma # Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840) Roman

Prince of Canino and Musignano The Princes of Canino and Musignano formed the genealogically senior line of the Bonaparte family following the death of Joseph Bonaparte in 1844. The line was succeeded by one of Emperor Napoleon's younger brothers, Lucien Bonaparte. It becam ...

## 3 daughters with first wife, Christine Boyer: ### Charlotte Philistine Bonaparte (1795–1865), married Prince Mario Gabrielli ### Victoire Gertrude Bonaparte (1797–1797) ### Christine Charlotte Alexandrine Egypta Bonaparte (1798–1847), married Count Arvid Posse, then married Lord Dudley Stuart ## 10 children with second wife,

Alexandrine de Bleschamp Alexandrine Bonaparte, Princess of Canino and Musignano (née Alexandrine de Bleschamp; 23 February 1778 – 12 July 1855) was a French aristocrat and by marriage member of the French Imperial family. Early life Marie Laurence Charlotte ...

: ### Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte (1803–1857), ornithologist and politician, married Princess

Zénaïde Bonaparte Zénaïde Laetitia Julie Bonaparte, Princess of Canino and Musignano (8 July 1801 – 8 August 1854) was the elder daughter of Joseph Bonaparte and Julie Clary, and thus the niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the wife of naturalist Charles Lucien B ...

(1801–1854) #### Joseph Lucien Charles Napoléon Bonaparte (1824–1865) #### Alexandrine Gertrude Zénaïde Bonaparte (1826–1828) #### Lucien Louis Joseph Napoléon (Cardinal) Bonaparte (1828–1895) #### Julie Charlotte Pauline Zénaïde Laetitia Désirée Bartholomée Bonaparte (1830–1900) #### Charlotte Honorine Joséphine Pauline Bonaparte (1832–1901) #### Léonie Stéphanie Elise Bonaparte (1833–1839) #### Marie Désirée Eugénie Joséphine Philomène Bonaparte (1835–1890) #### Augusta Amélie Maximilienne Jacqueline Bonaparte (1836–1900) #### Napoléon Charles Grégoire Jacques Philippe Bonaparte (1839–1899) ##### Zénaïde Victoire Eugénie Bonaparte (1860–1862) ##### Marie Léonie Eugénie Mathilde Jeanne Julie Zénaïde Bonaparte (1870–1947) ##### Eugénie Laetitia Barbe Caroline Lucienne Marie Jeanne Bonaparte (1872–1949) #### Bathilde Aloïse Léonie Bonaparte (1840–1861) #### Albertine Marie Thérèse Bonaparte (1842–1842) #### Charles Albert Edmond Bonaparte (1843–1847) ### Laetitia Christine Bonaparte (1804–1871) ### Joseph Lucien Bonaparte (1806–1807) ### Jeanne Adélaïde Bonaparte (1807–1829) ### Paul Marie Bonaparte (1808–1827) ### Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813–1891) ### Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte (1815–1881), married

Éléonore-Justine Ruflin Princess Éléonore-Justine Bonaparte (née Éléonore-Justine Ruflin; 1 July 1832 – 13 October 1905) was the wife of Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon I. Under the pseudonym Nina Bonaparte she published a memoir titled ...

####

Roland Bonaparte Roland Napoléon Bonaparte, 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano (19 May 1858 – 14 April 1924) was a French prince and president of the Société de Géographie from 1910 until his death. He was the last male-lineage descendant of Lucien Bonaparte ...

(1858–1924), married

Marie-Félix Blanc Princess Marie-Félix Bonaparte (née Marie-Félix Blanc; 22 December 1859 – 1 August 1882) was a French heiress. Born into a wealthy French bourgeoisie family with financial holdings in Monaco and Germany, she was left with a large inheritance ...

#####

Princess Marie Bonaparte Princess Marie Bonaparte (2 July 1882 – 21 September 1962), known as Princess George of Greece and Denmark upon her marriage, was a French author and psychoanalyst, closely linked with Sigmund Freud. Her wealth contributed to the popularity ...

(1882–1962), married

Prince George of Greece Prince George of Greece and Denmark (; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of his cousin the future E ...

#### Princess Jeanne Bonaparte (1861–1910) ### Antoine Lucien Bonaparte (1816–1877) ### Alexandrine Marie Bonaparte (1818–1874) ### Constance Marie Bonaparte (1823–1876) # Maria-Anna Elisa Bonaparte (1777–1820), Grand-Duchess of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, married Felice Baciocchi, Prince of Lucca ## Marie-Laetitia Bonaparte Baciocchi # Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1778–1846), King of Holland, married

, Napoleon's stepdaughter ## Napoléon Charles Bonaparte (1802–1807) ## Napoléon Louis Bonaparte (1804–1831) ## Charles Louis Napoléon (III) Bonaparte (1808–1873) Emperor of the French, married Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick ### Napoléon Eugène Louis John Joseph Bonaparte, Prince Imperial (1856–1879) # Maria Paola or Marie Pauline Bonaparte (1780–1825) Princess and Duchess of Guastalla, married in 1797 to French General

Charles Leclerc Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...

and later married Camillo Borghese, 6th Prince of Sulmona. # Maria Annunziata Caroline Bonaparte (1782–1839) married

Marshal of the Empire Marshal of the Empire () was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was established by on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the ''Sénatus-consulte'', a Mar ...

, Grand Duke of Berg, then King of Naples ##

Prince Achille Murat Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat (known as Achille, 21 January 1801 – 15 April 1847) was the eldest son of Joachim Murat, the brother-in-law of Napoleon who was appointed King of Naples during the First French Empire. After his father was d ...

(1801–1847), married Catherine Willis Gray (1803–1867), great-grandniece of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

## Prince Napoléon Lucien Charles Murat (1803–1878), married Caroline Georgina Fraser (1810–1879) ### 5 Children, including: #### ''Joachim'' Joseph Napoléon Murat, 4th Prince Murat (1834–1901), Major-General of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, married firstly Malcy Louise Caroline Berthier de Wagram (1832–1884) and had issue, and secondly Lydia Hervey, without issue #### Prince Louis Napoléon Murat (1851–1912), married in Odesa, Eudoxia Mikhailovna Somova (1850–1924), had issue now extinct in male line # Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte (1784–1860), King of Westphalia ## 1 child from first marriage, to Elizabeth Patterson of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

: ### Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte (1805–1870), married Susan May Williams and had 2 sons: ####

Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II (November 5, 1830 – September 3, 1893) was a French-American military officer who served in the United States Army and later in the French Army. He was a member of the American branch of the House of Bonaparte. Ea ...

(1830–1893), married Caroline Le Roy Appleton Edgar ##### Louise-Eugénie Bonaparte (1873–1923), married in 1896 Count Adam Carl von Moltke-Huitfeld (1864–1944); had issue ##### Jerome Napoléon Charles Bonaparte (1878–1945), married Blanche Pierce Stenbeigh, no issue #### Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851–1921),

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

and

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

, married Ellen Channing Day, no issue ## 3 children from second marriage, to Princess

Catharina of Württemberg Princess Katharina of Württemberg (full name: Friederike Katharina Sophie Dorothea; 21 February 1783 – 29 November 1835) was Queen of Westphalia by marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte, who reigned as King of Westphalia between 1807 and 1813. L ...

: ###

Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte Prince Jérôme Napoléon Charles Bonaparte (24 August 1814 – 12 May 1847) was the son of Jérôme Bonaparte and a nephew of Napoleon I, Emperor of France, and army officer of the German kingdom of Württemberg. Life Jérôme Napoléon w ...

(1814–1847), unmarried and childless ### Mathilde Laetitia Wilhelmine Bonaparte (1820–1904), married

Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato (; 5 April OS: 24 March 1813 – 29 April 1870) was a Russian industrialist, diplomat, active state councillor, and arts patron of the Demidov family. Early life Born in Saint Petersburg ...

: no issue ### Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (1822–1891), called ''Plon-Plon,'' married Princess Marie Clothilde of Savoy daughter of

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

#### Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (1862–1926), married

Princess Clémentine of Belgium Princess Clémentine of Belgium (, ; 30 July 1872 – 8 March 1955), was by birth a Kingdom of Belgium, Princess of Belgium and member of the House of Wettin in the branch of House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (as such she wa ...

##### Marie Clotilde Eugénie Alberte Laetitia Geneviève Bonaparte (1912–1996), married Count Serge de Witt ##### Louis Jérôme Victor Emmanuel Léopold Marie Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (1914–1997), married Alix de Foresta ###### Charles Marie Jérôme Victor Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (born 1950) ####### Two children from first marriage, to

Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Princess Béatrice Marie Caroline Louise Françoise of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (born 16 June 1950 in Saint-Raphaël, Var, France) is the eldest daughter of Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Castro, Castro-line claimant to the headship of the House of Bour ...

: ######## Caroline Marie Constance Bonaparte (Princess Caroline Napoléon) (born 1980) ######## Jean-Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Bonaparte, Prince Napoléon (born 1986), married Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg ######### Louis Charles Riprand Victor Jérôme Marie Napoléon (born 2022) ####### 1 child and 1 adopted child from second marriage, to Jeanne-Françoise Valliccioni: ######## Sophie Catherine Bonaparte (born 1992) ######## Anh Laëtitia Bonaparte (born 1998, adopted) ###### Catherine Elisabeth Albérique Marie Bonaparte (born 1950) ###### Laure Clémentine Geneviève Bonaparte (born 1952) ###### Jérôme Xavier Marie Joseph Victor Bonaparte (Prince Jérôme Napoléon) (born 1957), married in 2013 with Licia Innocenti #### Napoléon Louis Joseph Jérôme Bonaparte (1864–1932) Russian general, unmarried and childless #### Marie Laetitia Eugénie Catherine Adélaïde Bonaparte (1866–1926), married Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta

Family tree of Bonaparte

Male-line family tree

* Charles Buonaparte, 1746–1785 **

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

, King of Naples, then King of Spain, 1768–1844 **

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, 1769–1821, Emperor of the French ***

, 1811–1832, Prince Imperial, King of Rome **

, 1775–1840, Prince of Canino and Musignano ***

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist, and a nephew of Napoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal ...

, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano, 1803–1857 **** Joseph Lucien Bonaparte, 3rd Prince of Canino and Musignano, 1824–1865 **** Lucien Bonaparte (cardinal), 4th Prince of Canino and Musignano, 1828–1895 **** Napoleon Charles Bonaparte, 5th Prince of Canino and Musignano, 1839–1899 *** Paul Mary Bonaparte, 1808–1827 *** Louis Lucien Bonaparte, 1813–1891 *** Peter Napoléon Bonaparte, 1815–1881 ****

, 1858–1924 ***Anthony Lucien Bonaparte, 1816–1877 **

, 1778–1846, King of Holland *** Napoléon Louis Bonaparte, 1804–1831 ***

, 1808–1873, Emperor of the French ****

Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial Napoléon, Prince Imperial (Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte; 16 March 1856 – 1 June 1879), also known as Louis-Napoléon, was the only child of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and Empress Eugénie. After his father wa ...

, 1856–1879 **

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

, 1784–1860, King of Westphalia *** Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte, 1805–1870 ****

, 1830–1893 *****Jerome Napoléon Charles Bonaparte III, 1878–1945 *****

Charles Joseph Bonaparte Charles Joseph Bonaparte ( ; June 9, 1851June 28, 1921) was an American lawyer and political activist for progressive and liberal causes of French noble descent. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, he served in the cabinet of the 26th U.S. pre ...

, 1851–1921 ***

I, 1814–1847 *** Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte, 1822–1891 **** Victor, Prince Napoléon, 1862–1926 ***** Louis, Prince Napoléon, 1914–1997 ****** Charles, Prince Napoléon, b. 1950 *******

, b. 1986 ********Louis Charles Napoléon, b. 2022 ******Jérôme Xavier, b. 1957 ****

, 1864–1932

Bonaparte coat of arms

The arms of the Bonaparte family were: ''Gules two bends sinister between two mullets or''. In 1804, Napoleon I changed the arms to ''Azure an

imperial eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...

or''. The change applied to all members of his family except for his brother Lucien and his nephew, the son from Jérôme's first marriage. File:Blason fam fr Bonaparte ornamented.svg, Arms of Charles-Maria Buonaparte File:Coat of Arms of Lucien Bonaparte, Roman Prince of Canino.svg, Arms of

File:Imperial Coat of Arms of France (1804-1815).svg, Arms of

and

, as

File:Great Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic).svg, Arms of Napoleon I and Napoleon II, as

Kings of Italy Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

File:Grand Coat of Arms of Napoelon Bonaparte as King of Elbe.svg, Arms of Napoleon I, as Sovereign of Elba File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Naples.svg, Arms of

, as

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first Sicilian Vespers, separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou ...

File:Grand Coat of Arms of Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.svg, Arms of Joseph Bonaparte, as

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Holland (1808).svg, Arms of

and Louis II, as

King of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( (contemporary), (modern); ) was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican governmen ...

File:Coat of arms of Napoleon Bonaparte Louis Grand Duke of Cleves and Berg.svg, Arms of Napoléon-Louis Bonaparte (Louis II), as Grand Duke of Berg File:Grandes Armes Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860) 2.svg, Arms of

, as King of Westphalia File:Coat of Arms Second French Empire (1852–1870).svg, Arms of

, as

DNA research

According to studies by G. Lucotte and his coauthors based on DNA research since 2011, Napoleon Bonaparte belonged to

Y-DNA The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in therian mammals and other organisms. Along with the X chromosome, it is part of the XY sex-determination system, in which the Y is the sex-determining chromosome because the presence of the Y ...

(direct male ancestry) haplogroup E1b1b1c1* (E-M34*). This 15000-year-old haplogroup has its highest concentration in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

(

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

). According to the authors of the study, "Probably Napoléon also knew his remote oriental patrilineal origins, because Francesco Buonaparte (the Giovanni son), who was a mercenary under the orders of the Genoa Republic in Ajaccio in 1490, was nicknamed ''The

Maure A Moor's head, also known as a Maure, since the 11th century, is a symbol depicting the head of a black moor. The term moor came to define anyone who was African and Muslim. Origin The precise origin of the Moor's head as a heraldic symbol is ...

of Sarzane''." The latest study identifies the common Bonaparte DNA markers from Carlo (Charles) Bonaparte to 3 living descendants. Lucotte et al. published in October 2013 the extended Y-STR of Napoleon I based on descendant testing, and the descendants were E-M34, just like the emperor's beard hair tested a year before. The persons tested were the patrilineal descendants of Jérome Bonaparte, one of Napoleon's brothers, and of Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, Napoleon's illegitimate son with

Marie Walewska Marie Walewska, Countess Walewska (; ; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a Polish noblewoman in the court of Napoleon I who used her influence to sway the emperor towards the creation of an independent Polish state. In her later years ...

. These three tests all yielded the same Y-STR haplotype (109 markers) confirming with 100% certainty that the first Emperor of the French belonged to the M34 branch of haplogroup E1b1b. STR strongly suggests that the Bonaparte belong to the Y58897 branch, which means that the ancestor 3000 years ago or a bit more lived in Anatolia, but all relatives in the database with a common ancestor with over 1000 years are found in their own the Massa - La Spezia small area in Italy. There are at the moment no relatives in the database older than that, which means they are very rare in Europe.

Living members

Charles, Prince Napoléon (born 1950, great-great-grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte by his second marriage), and his son

(born 1986 and appointed heir in the will of his grandfather Louis, Prince Napoléon)currently dispute the headship of the Bonaparte family. The only other male members of the family are Charles's recently married (2013) brother, Prince Jérôme Napoléon (born 1957) and Jean-Christophe's son, Prince Louis Napoléon (born 2022). There are no other legitimate descendants in the male line from Napoleon I or from his brothers. There are, however, numerous descendants of Napoleon's illegitimate, unacknowledged son, Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski (1810–1868), born from

's union with Marie, Countess Walewski. A descendant of Napoleon's sister

Caroline Bonaparte Carolina Maria Annunziata Bonaparte ( French: ''Caroline Marie Annunciata Bonaparte''; 25 March 1782 – 18 May 1839), better known as Caroline Bonaparte, was an Imperial French princess; the seventh child and third daughter of Carlo Buonaparte ...

was actor

René Auberjonois René Marie Murat Auberjonois ( ; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and voice actor, known for playing Odo on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999) and Clayton Endicott III on '' Benson'' (1980–1986). He firs ...

. Recent DNA-matches with living descendants of Jérôme and Count Walewski have confirmed the existence of descendants of Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, namely the Clovis family. File:Le duc de Reichstadt.jpg,

- Napoleon I's only legitimate child File:Charles, comte Léon.jpg, Charles, Count Léon (1806–1881), son of Napoleon I File:Aleksander Colonna-Walewski.jpg, Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, Napoleon I's unacknowledged son File:King Jerome Bonaparte.jpg,

, founder of the surviving legitimate Bonapartist line of succession

Footnotes

References

External links

* *
The coat of arms of the Tuscan branch of Bonaparte family in State Archives of Florence
* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonaparte, House Of Italian noble families Roman Catholic families French noble families Military families

Italian origins

Imperial House of France

Crowns held by the family

Emperors of the French

Kings of Holland

King of Naples

King of Westphalia

King of Spain

Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Princess and Duchess of Guastalla

Heads of the House of Bonaparte (since 1852)

Family tree

Family tree list

Family tree of Bonaparte

Male-line family tree

Bonaparte coat of arms

DNA research

Living members

See also

Footnotes

References

External links