First wife of Jerome Bonaparte and sister-in-law of Napoleon, Emperor of France.
Her father was the richest man in Baltimore. She married the French Navy officer Jerome Bonaparte on December 24, 1803. He was a brother of Napoleon, since 1799 First Consul of France. Napoleon immediately ordered him back to France and demanded him to have his marriage annulled. He preferred Jerome to marry a European princess. Jerome soon returned to France, accompanied by Elizabeth, who was now pregnant. But on orders of Napoleon, Elizabeth ('Betsy') was denied landing in any port on the European continent. In 1805 she gave in London birth to a son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. Elizabeth's ex-husband, Jerome, adapted himself to the wishes of his brother, who had in the meantime crowned himself emperor of France. In 1807 Napoleon made him King of Westphalia and he married a princess of Wurtemburg. Betsy went with her son back to Baltimore, where she lived with her father. In 1815 her marriage was finally dissolved. After the battle of Waterloo she went to Europe, where she attracted much attention and was received in high society. Back in Baltimore she spent all her time in the management of her estate. Its value seems to have increased to $ 1,500,000. Her grandson Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851-1921) was in 1905 appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt Secretary of the Navy and in 1906 U.S. Attorney General.

First wife of Jerome Bonaparte and sister-in-law of Napoleon, Emperor of France.
Her father was the richest man in Baltimore. She married the French Navy officer Jerome Bonaparte on December 24, 1803. He was a brother of Napoleon, since 1799 First Consul of France. Napoleon immediately ordered him back to France and demanded him to have his marriage annulled. He preferred Jerome to marry a European princess. Jerome soon returned to France, accompanied by Elizabeth, who was now pregnant. But on orders of Napoleon, Elizabeth ('Betsy') was denied landing in any port on the European continent. In 1805 she gave in London birth to a son, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. Elizabeth's ex-husband, Jerome, adapted himself to the wishes of his brother, who had in the meantime crowned himself emperor of France. In 1807 Napoleon made him King of Westphalia and he married a princess of Wurtemburg. Betsy went with her son back to Baltimore, where she lived with her father. In 1815 her marriage was finally dissolved. After the battle of Waterloo she went to Europe, where she attracted much attention and was received in high society. Back in Baltimore she spent all her time in the management of her estate. Its value seems to have increased to $ 1,500,000. Her grandson Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851-1921) was in 1905 appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt Secretary of the Navy and in 1906 U.S. Attorney General.

Bio by: FS