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3 unusual facts about Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte


Bonapartism

If his own line died out, the new decree allowed the claim to pass to Jerome, Napoleon's youngest brother who had previously been excluded, and his male descendants by Princess Catharina of Württemberg in the male line (but not his descendants by his original marriage to the American commoner Elizabeth Patterson, which Napoleon I had greatly disapproved).

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte

The story of Elizabeth and Jérôme's marriage and annulment is the basis for the 1908 play Glorious Betsy by Rida Johnson Young and the two film adaptations, Glorious Betsy (1928) and Hearts Divided (1936).

After the Battle of Waterloo, she returned to Europe where she was well received in the most exclusive circles and much admired for her beauty and wit.


Susan May Williams

In November 1829, Susan became the wife of Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte-Patterson (1805–70), son of the King of Westphalia (Napoleon's youngest brother) and his American first wife, Elizabeth "Betsy" Patterson.

Titles of Nobility Amendment

There is speculation that the Congress proposed the amendment in response to the 1803 marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother, Jerome, and Betsy Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland, who gave birth to a boy for whom she wanted aristocratic recognition from France.


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