Eugène de Beauharnais | |||||
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French Prince Prince of Venice Grand Duke of Frankfurt |
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Eugène de Beauharnais, portrait by Andrea Appiani, 1810.
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Viceroy of Italy | |||||
Term | 5 June 1805 – 11 April 1814 | ||||
Monarch | Napoleon I | ||||
Duke of Leuchtenberg Prince of Eichstätt |
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Tenure | 14 November 1817 – 21 February 1824 | ||||
Successor | Auguste de Beauharnais | ||||
Born | 3 September 1781 Paris, France |
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Died | 21 February 1824 Munich, Bavaria |
(aged 42)||||
Burial | St. Michael's Church, Munich | ||||
Spouse | Princess Augusta of Bavaria | ||||
Issue |
Josephine, Queen of Sweden Eugénie, Princess of Hohenzollern-Hechingen Auguste, Prince Consort of Portugal Amélie, Empress of Brazil Théodoline, Countess Wilhelm of Württemberg Princess Carolina Maximilian, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg |
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House | Beauharnais | ||||
Father | Alexandre de Beauharnais | ||||
Mother | Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Full name | |
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Eugène Rose de Beauharnais |
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was the first child and only son of Alexandre de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie, first wife of Napoleon I.
He was born in Paris, France, and became the stepson and adopted child (but not the heir to the imperial throne) of Napoleon I. His biological father was executed during the revolutionary Reign of Terror. He commanded the Army of Italy and was Viceroy of Italy under his stepfather.
Historians have looked upon him as one of the ablest of Napoleon's relatives.
Eugène's first campaign was in the Vendée, where he fought at Quiberon. However, within a year his mother Joséphine had arranged his return to Paris. In the Italian campaigns of 1796–1797, Eugène served as aide-de-camp to his stepfather, whom he also accompanied to Egypt. In Egypt, Eugène was wounded during the Siege of Acre (1799). He returned to France in the autumn of 1799 and helped bring about the reconciliation between Bonaparte and his mother, who had become estranged due to the extramarital affairs of both. When Napoleon became First Consul, Eugène became a captain in the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Consular Guard. With his squadron he took part in the Battle of Marengo.
During the War of the Fifth Coalition, Eugène was put in command of the Army of Italy, with General Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald as his military advisor. In April 1809 he fought and lost the Battle of Sacile against the Austrian army of the Archduke John, but Eugène's troops decisively won the rematch at the Battle of the Piave in May and the Battle of Raab in June. After the Battle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon recalled the Army of Italy to Austria. After joining the main army on the island of Lobau in the Danube, Eugène took part in the Battle of Wagram.