Napoleon III was not related by blood to Napoleon I, and may be Talleyrand's grandson

[adamo]

Queen-whore-tense; the name is so befitting, in every sense of the word loll. I think Decazes would be the most likely paternal candidate.

[sparkey]

OK, I just tracked down a Boucheporn portrait to complete our portrait analysis of Napoleon III paternity candidates. Here is René Bertrand de Boucheporn's brother, Anne François Louis Bertrand de Boucheporn:



Interestingly, René Bertrand de Boucheporn named his daughter Hortense. Hortense married into the de Sampigny family, and one of her descendants, her namesake Hortense de Sampigny, became a famous violinist (she's on the left, of course):



Intriguingly, the Bertrand de Boucheporn family is thought to have originated in or near Metz, which is a relatively high I2-M223 area. That said, I'm not sure I see a lot of family similarity to Napoleon III with them. Does anyone?

[John123]

I find it ironic that these are French names and bouche means mouth in French......Monsieur boucheporn lol

[Angela]

OK, I just tracked down a Boucheporn portrait to complete our portrait analysis of Napoleon III paternity candidates. Here is René Bertrand de Boucheporn's brother, Anne François Louis Bertrand de Boucheporn:



Interestingly, René Bertrand de Boucheporn named his daughter Hortense. Hortense married into the de Sampigny family, and one of her descendants, her namesake Hortense de Sampigny, became a famous violinist (she's on the left, of course):



Intriguingly, the Bertrand de Boucheporn family is thought to have originated in or near Metz, which is a relatively high I2-M223 area. That said, I'm not sure I see a lot of family similarity to Napoleon III with them. Does anyone?

I don't see any resemblance. Perhaps the historians should check their dates again. That one day encounter between Queen Hortense and her husband seems very suspicious to me. She wouldn't be the first woman in the world to discover she's pregnant by her lover who then finds such a visit might be a way to claim it is her husband's.

Also, this is a portrait of the child that was recognized as the issue of the Queen and the Count de Blahaut. He certainly looks as if he could be the full sibling of Napoleon III.
http://ookaboo.com/o/pictures/pictur...ph_Demornyde_M

[sparkey]

I don't see any resemblance.

Agreed, after spending some time trying to find a Boucheporn relative portrait, I think he's ended up being a very underwhelming candidate.

I think I'd go:

Top tier: Bylandt, Decazes, Flahaut
Middle tier: Thienon, Verhuell, Villeneuve
Bottom tier: Boucheporn

Boucheporn is the only one that would really surprise me. Thienon still needs a better portrait to look at.

I've also seen an eighth candidate discussed elsewhere, the Marquis de Castellane, who apparently passed through Cauterets at the right time, although Baguley doesn't even consider him, presumably because there's evidence that Hortense did not meet him while he was around. I'd place him in the bottom tier as well.

Also, this is a portrait of the child that was recognized as the issue of the Queen and the Count de Blahaut. He certainly looks as if he could be the full sibling of Napoleon III.
http://ookaboo.com/o/pictures/pictur...ph_Demornyde_M

He also looks like he could be a half sibling, though. I'm far from certain.

[sparkey]

Some news: This story has (finally) gone to press in Le Figaro. Unfortunately, the story is premium content, but there are some third party reports like this one at Atlas. The most interesting news? Apparently the scientists are now going to perform tests on Louis Bonaparte to confirm whether or not the illegitimacy was with Hortense.

[Grubbe]

Considering Marie Louise's morals, this is certainly a possibility. However, Napoleon himself had what have variously been described as blue, blue-grey or grey eyes. Virtually all of his portraits indicate this as well. So any child of his with a light eyed woman should have produced a light eyed child.
http://www.napoleon-series.org/resea...scription.html

Here is a picture of Napoleon I showing his light eyes:

http://tiffanyslittleblog.blogspot.n...-napoleon.html

[Angela]

Here is a picture of Napoleon I showing his light eyes:

http://tiffanyslittleblog.blogspot.n...-napoleon.html

Altogether a quite common "look" in both Liguria and Toscana, his two ancestral (maternal and paternal) areas, sometimes a little darker, sometimes a little fairer, and it can also be found in Corsica, as well, more in the north of the island than the south so far as I can tell from superficial visits.

A comparison with his parents:


And Louis...I'll be very surprised if he and Napoleon turn out not to be full siblings. My bet is on Hortense having strayed, although, as I said, if the stories of Louis' inclinations are true, she should be given a bit of a pass, in my opinion. Her mother Josephine could also hardly be considered a good role model. She couldn't even be faithful for the few months Napoleon was on campaign in Italy.