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Prince of Wales at Napoleon's Tomb, 1925
Visit of Prince of Wales to Napoleon's Tomb, 1925 (1) Over the years there have been only a handful of Royal visits to St Helena. One of the earliest, perhaps even the first, was that of the Prince of...
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The Emperor's Shadow : The Strange Story of the Balcombes
The Emperor's Shadow, London 2015 The author has done a tremendous amount of research, and has gathered together a large amount of information on the Balcombe family, much of which was unknown to me at...
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British Napoleons
Past.com entries for people baptised Napoleon, 1803-5 Some time ago I wrote a blog about the grave of Napoleon I came across many years ago in a Suffolk church yard. At the time, with a very...
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Napoleon and Churchill: Thoughts on Two Unrelated Images
Napoleon St Helena 1816, by Michel Dancoisne Martineau The above portrait has just been completed by Michel Dancoisne Martineau. Aside from his incredible work with the French Properties on St. Helena,...
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Churchill and Napoleon: The Desk at Chartwell
Winston Churchill's Desk at Chartwell with a bust of Napoleon in centreI first started posting on Churchill and Napoleon in 2009, and it should be of no surprise to anyone who has read any of these...
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December 1940: Return of L'Aiglon Part I
Napoleon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte (1811-1832), Napoleon's only legitimate sonNapoleon's son, titled first King of Rome, then briefly Napoleon II and finally Duke of Reichstadt became known as...
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December 1940: Return of L'Aiglon Part II
Adolf Hitler at Les Invalides, June 1940Following the surrender of France, Adolf Hitler made two visits to Paris in June 1940. On the second visit he went to Les Invalides and whilst looking at...
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The Lady Lever Art Gallery Revisited
Napoleon I by René Théodore Berthon, 1809I recently returned to the Lady Lever Art Gallery. This was my first visit since the Napoleon room was moved and reconfigured. I was very taken with the Berthon...
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Napoleon's Tomb St Helena, May 5th 2020.
Aujourd’hui, en hommage à l’Empereur… à Sainte Hélène. Posted by Domaines nationaux français à l'île de Sainte Hélène, Atlantique Sud on Monday, May 4, 2020Napoelon's Tomb, St Helena, May 5th 2020St...
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The Pen is Mightier than the Sword: St Helena, March 1820
Front cover, "The political house that Jack built", 1819In March 1820 a naval surgeon named McKenzie arrived on St Helena with a copy of the The political house that Jack built. (1) This pamphlet...
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Britain's Wars against Napoleon: Two Reviews
I have recently read two books with very different perspectives on the British Government's wars against Napoleon. David Andress intertwines diplomacy, war and the domestic challenges often brutally...
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Princes Caroline Murat: A Bonaparte in Suffolk
Memorial to Princess Caroline Laetitia Murat (1833-1902), Grand Niece of Napoleon, Ringsfield Church, Suffolk This remarkable memorial was erected to commemorate Caroline Laetitia Murat, granddaughter...
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Pride of Place at Chartwell - Kent Bylines
The full article can be found onKent Bylines *****************************
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May 5th: Thoughts on the Bicentenary of Napoleon's Death
The Centenary of Napoleon's Death, St Helena 1921Napoleon's Tomb, St HelenaDespite the pandemic an impressive programme has been planned on St Helena both at Longwood House and around the empty grave....
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The Bicentenary: An Update
Napoleon's Grave, St Helena, May 2021 After years of preparation, the disruption of the pandemic and the debate in France over Napoleon's legacy, the ceremonies on St Helena have now passed. In my...
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Queen Victoria, Count Walewski and a Famous Painting
Napoleon at Fontainebleau, 31 March 1814 Paul DelarocheThere appear to be a number of versions of Delaroche's painting of Napoleon's first abdication. One has been in the Musée de l'Armée in Paris...
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Queen Victoria and the Empress Eugénie
Queen Victoria's portrait of Eugénie, May 1855 By the last decades of the nineteenth century the Bonaparte family had gained legitimacy among Europe's rulers. No longer identified with opposition to...
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Sir Hudson Lowe and Antonomasia - A Review
Sir Hudson Lowe, Victime of St Helena by Michel Dancoisne-Martineau This book, one of a series of 12, is only available from the Longwood House souvenir shop on the island of St Helena. It contains...
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The Man on the Rock - Kenneth Griffith (1975)
On our recent visit to St Helena we were privileged to be able to watch this powerful performance by Kenneth Griffith on a large screen. It first appeared in 1975, but has long since been forgotten,...
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Elba 1814: Napoleon meets a man from Bungay.
John Barber Scott (1792-1862) John Barber Scott was the much travelled son of a wealthy merchant from Bungay in Suffolk. His diaries, provide a fascinating glimpse of life in the Waveney valley in the...
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Napoleon chez the Balcombes- A Review
Volume 3 of Michel Dancoisne-Martineau's series, Napoleon and St Helena, the end of an emperor.This volume provides a very comprehensive account of Napoleon's debarquement from the "Northumberland",...
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The Bulk Fuel Installation &"The Saint"
"The Saint" 12 January 2022 I rarely post about modern St Helena, but a recent edition of a new publication, The Saint reminded me of a story I came across when I visited a year ago. To put it simply,...
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Kensal Green Cemetery, St Helena and Napoleon
Kensal Green Cemetery, founded in 1833, is the oldest and apparently the most prestigious private cemetery in Britain. The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery have just released an article by Henry...
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Michael Broers on the Ridley Scott film
Having read so many bad reviews I decided not to bother with Ridley Scott's film, but I may be more interested in the four hour directors cut not yet released.The film apparently focused very much on...
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Napoleon Symphony: "Can Burgess write on Napoleon? Of Corsican." (1)
Burgess's Novel published in 1974, based on the script he wrote for Kubrick Last year's Ridley Scott film on Napoleon inevitably triggered memories of Kubrick's ill-fated epic, abandoned half a century...
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