PAULINE BONAPARTE

Pauline Bonaparte

Shortly before her marriage to the Italian Prince Camillo Borghese Pauline Bonaparte bought the Paris residence of the Dukes of Charost. She decorated each room in a different colour.

Hôtel de Charost, British Ambassador’s Residence, Paris
Pauline Bonaparte's Bed
Pauline Bonaparte’s original bed from the first floor is now on the ground floor of the British Ambassador’s residence in Paris. The Imperial bed with its Egyptian figures has been restored as it was in 1814, with blue silk decorated with gold roses. The Psyche mirror at the side was a gift from Napoleon.
Pauline Bonaparte's Bed at the British Embassy in Paris
The Imperial emblem of the eagle sits on top of Pauline’s bed
The residence contains a small scale copy of Canova’s marble statue of Pauline as Venus.
The original was commissioned by her husband shortly after their marriage and is now displayed at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

Pauline added two wings overlooking the garden. One contained 175 paintings from her husband’s art collection and the other was a dining room which could be converted to a ball room. The glass ceilings were draped with fine fabric to allow the light to penetrate.

The original was commissioned by her husband shortly after their marriage and is now displayed at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

The wings were rebuilt ten years after the British Government acquired the property.

Pauline owned the residence for 11 years.

When Napoleon was forced to abdicate and exiled to Elba Pauline headed there to be with him. She sold her Paris residence to the Duke of Wellington who was acting on behalf of the British government.
The residence sold for 800,000 francs which included 300,000 francs for the furniture. It was the first
permanent residence purchased for a British Ambassador. Wellington occupied the house until
Napoleon returned to Paris. When Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, the British returned. It is still
the residence of the British Ambassador to France.

Pauline’s original bed has been moved from the first floor to the ground floor. The English King

Edward VII slept in it twice on visits to Paris as did the Queen Mother in 1956 and 1982.

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