Bonaparte, Joseph (1768-1844) King of Naples and Sicily (1806-08)
and King of Spain (1808-13) the eldest surviving son of Charles Bonaparte
and brother of Napoleon. He married in 1794
Marie-Julie Clary (1771-1845), elder sister of Desirée
Bernadotte (née Clary). He served Napoleon on diplomatic missions
and was a humane sovereign in southern Italy, but faced continuous rebellion
as a nominated ruler in Spain, where his army was decisively defeated by
Wellington at Vitoria (June 1813).
After Waterloo, Joseph Bonaparte spent many years in exile in America,
in New Jersey, but settled in Florence, Italy for the last years of his
life, while his family remained in Europe.
Charlotte
(1802-1839) and Zénaide (1801-1854) Bonaparte are daughters
of Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844) and Marie-Julie Clary (1771-1845). The
portrait by Jacques-Louis David shows the girls with a letter from their
father sent from Philadelphia.
Zénaide, the one who holds the letter in the portrait, married
her cousin Charles Lucien, son of Lucien Bonaparte, the youngest brother
of Napoleon, in 1822.
Charlotte married her cousin Napoleon Louis, son of Louis Bonaparte,
another brother of Napoleon, in 1826.
See: Jacques-Louis David.
Portrait
of Charlotte and Zénaide Bonaparte.
François-Pascal-Simon Gérard.
Marie-Julie
Bonaparte, Queen of Spain, with Her Two Daughters Charlotte and Zénaide
Bonaparte.
Bibliography:
Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Chambers. 1996.
Napoleon's Family. by Desmond Seward Publisher: Viking Press.
1986.