Bonaparte, Carolina (1782–1839)
Bonaparte, Carolina (1782–1839)
Queen of Naples. Name variations: Caroline Murat; Countess Lipona, Countess of Lipona. Born Maria Annunciata or Maria-Nunziata Caroline at Ajaccio, Corsica, on March 25, 1782; died of stomach cancer in Florence, Italy, on May 18, 1839; daughter ofLetizia Bonaparte (1750–1836) and Carlo Bonaparte (a Corsican lawyer); youngest sister of Napoleon I, emperor of France (r. 1804–1815); married Joachim Murat, king of Naples, in 1800 (died); married Francesco Macdonald; children: (first marriage) Napoléon Murat;Laetitia Murat ; Lucien Murat;Louise Murat .
As ambitious as her brother Napoleon, Carolina became queen of Naples in 1808. Her infidelities were frequent during her marriage to Joachim Murat, but the couple shared a strong bond of upward aspirations. She encouraged him to betray Napoleon in 1814, which led ultimately to Murat's defeat and execution in 1815. Caroline
renamed herself the Countess of Lipona and took refuge with her children in Trieste. A year after her husband's death, she secretly married Francesco Macdonald, a soldier formerly in Napoleon's service. Like so many of the Bonapartes, Caroline died of stomach cancer, in 1839.