Oh, The People I Meet

Oh, the people I meet. Researching a subject for a book often takes me deep into the subject’s history and family, gathering information I won’t be able to use per se, but letting it lay in my mind to form images and environment about the subject I’m researching. This may sound like a government document, but it latches on to me like a small child tugging at my shirt wanting attention.

Prince Murat and his family did that to me. He dragged me to Europe after the rise of Emperor Louis Napoleon III ca.1850 where I found him and his family to be fascinating although part of the self-serving aristocracy. He was tenacious but never did manage to re-coup the crown of Naples that his father held and lost his life over. His cousin Napoleon III discouraged him from seeking claims.

His daughters became part of the Court of Empress Eugenie and all it entailed. The elder daughter Caroline Laetitia drifted away from the center of the Court forming a great dislike of the Empress in later years. Princess Anne remained close to the Empress even years after she and the Emperor were ousted from France. Here is the website that shows the Empress surrounded by her Court including the beautiful and elegant Princesses Murat: http://www.abcgallery.com/W/winterhalter/winterhalter15.html