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Pauline Bonaparte

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Royalty

The Resume

    (October 20, 1780-June 9, 1825)
    Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, France
    Birth name was Maria Paola Bonaparte
    Sister of Napoleon Bonaparte
    Married to General Charles Leclerc (1797-1802) and Camillo Borghese, Prince of Sulmona (1802-25)

Why she might be annoying:

    She was better known for her relatives, her looks and her love affairs than any accomplishments, making her the Napoleonic-era equivalent of a Kardashian.
    She was constantly unfaithful to both of her husbands.
    When Napoleon gave her the Duchy of Guantalla, she sold it off to Parma for six million francs.
    Klemens von Metternich said, ‘She was in love with herself, and her only occupation was pleasure.’

Why she might not be annoying:

    She bathed daily at a time when it was rare behavior.
    While in Haiti with her first husband, she helped nurse victims of a yellow fever epidemic (1801-02).
    She was the model for one of Antonio Canova’s best-known sculptures, ‘Venus Victrix.’
    When asked how she could pose topless, she replied, ‘It was not cold. There was a fire in the studio.’
    She was the only one of Napoleon’s siblings to visit him when he was exiled on Elba.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 253 Votes: 47.83% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 23 Votes: 47.83% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 97 Votes: 52.58% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 80 Votes: 51.25% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 110 Votes: 50.91% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 55 Votes: 50.91% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 94 Votes: 58.51% Annoying