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- At the age of thirteen she was involved in the Buonaparte's night-time escape from their home, travelling with her mother and siblings to the French mainland, making a mark on Napoleon's rise to power.
After her numerous love affairs became an embarrassment, Napoleon had Pauline married to Charles Leclerc, one of his generals. She accompanied Leclerc to Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in 1802 to remove the black general Toussaint Louverture from power and restore slavery. Despite her brother's position, and the fact that her husband was fighting a war, Pauline continued to have affairs in Saint-Domingue, often with low-ranking soldiers and officers. Although she was disloyal, Pauline did attend her husband during his fatal sickness with yellow fever, which killed him in November 1802.
Napoleon later had Pauline married to a member of the Borghese family. After the wedding, Napoleon bought the Borghese art collection at a discount for the Louvre. During her marriage, Pauline posed for a partially nude sculpture by Antonio Canova
In 1806, Napoleon made his sister sovereign Princess and Duchess of Guastalla. However, she soon sold the Duchy to Parma for six million francs, and lost the title of Princess of Guastalla (although she continued to be styled as Duchess). Pauline fell into temporary disfavor with her brother because of her hostility to Empress consort Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, but when Napoleon's fortune failed, Pauline showed herself more loyal than any of his other sisters and brothers.
Upon Napoleon's fall, Pauline liquidated all of her assets into cash, and moved to Elba, using that money, to better Napoleon's condition. Pauline was the only Bonaparte sibling to visit her brother during his exile at Elba..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Bonaparte
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1780 - 1825 (44 years)
