An interesting note from the West Yorkshire police. Could Louis Bonaparte, who was not a prince, be descended from Napoleon's brother, Lucien (1775-1840), who was married twice?
By his second wife. Alexandrine de Beschamps, Lucien had ten children, including Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813-1891). In 1833, Louis Lucien married Maria Anna Cecchi. The couple separated in 1850 after Louis Lucien began an affair with Clémence Richards. They had one son, Louis Claverling Clovis Bonaparte (1859-1894), whose surname until his parents married was Richards.
The younger Louis was married twice without issue, although he had one son, Valentine Clavering Clovis (1883-1979), with an English actress, Nita Gerald. Valentine's birth surname was Gerald, as he, like his father, was born out of wedlock.
In 1914, Valentine married Elsie Chowns. They had five children: John Albert Clovis (1915-2001), Marion Clovis (1916-1988), Gerald Clovis (1919-2013), William Henry Clovis (1921-2012), and Cyril Abel Clovis (1923-2008).
Cyril married Audrey Blades in 1945. Their only child, Michael, was born in 1948. Mike provided DNA evidence that proves his paternal ancestors are Bonaparte descendants. He has several paternal first cousins, including John A. Clovis and William A. Clovis, sons of John Albert Clovis and William H. Clovis. According to William Henry's death notice, he was a "much-loved grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather.
Many of Louis Lucien's descendants live in the North of England.
https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jmbr/article/view/40064
I am not sure why the West Yorkshire Police would refer to the late Louis Bonaparte as "Prince Louis," as the only extant male line is through Napoleon I's youngest brother, Jérôme Bonaparte, and his second wife, Princess Catherine of Württemberg. The current head of the house is Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoleon.
According to a 2013 Yorkshire Live article on an armed siege at a Bradford apartment complex, it included this paragraph:" Louis Bonaparte, 61, originally from Normandy, who has lived in the flats for nearly 10 years, said: "As I came back home there was a helicopter hovering around and two BMW police cars dropping armed police off.”
Louis-Lucien's descendants are British-born. This Louis Bonaparte, who lived in Huddersfield, was from Normandy. There are many people with the surname Bonaparte.
Likely this fellow wanted to believe he was a member of the Bonaparte Royal family. Many people come to these conclusions because of their name or a family story. I know a woman who claimed her children were "royal" as their father's grandma's surname was Battenberg. If he was calling himself a prince, people would know him as that and maybe respond to the search.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, Marlene, but I'm confused. Clearly there are several male line Bonaparte descents from the Imperial Family, including the one that you detail here with such precision. Although, with the exception of Prince Napoleon's line they are illegitimate, they are male descendants.
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