Holland / Lodewijk I (King Louis I)

Holland - Lodewijk I (King Louis I) (5 June 1806 - 1 July 1810)

Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French client state roughly corresponding to the current Netherlands). In that capacity he was known as Louis I (Dutch: Lodewijk I).

Louis was the fifth surviving child and fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino, out of eight children who lived past infancy. He and his siblings were all born on Corsica, which had been conquered by France less than a decade before his birth. Louis followed his older brothers into the French Army, where he benefited from Napoleon's patronage. In 1802, he married his step-niece Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Empress Joséphine (Napoleon's wife).

In 1806, Napoleon established the Kingdom of Holland in place of the Batavian Republic, appointing Louis as the new king. Napoleon had intended for Holland to be little more than a puppet state, but Louis was determined to be as independent as possible, and in fact became quite popular amongst his new people. Growing tired of his brother's wilfulness, Napoleon re-annexed Holland into the French Empire in 1810. Louis fled into exile in Austria, where he spent the rest of his life. His son Louis-Napoléon established the Second French Empire, taking the throne as Napoleon III.

Louis Bonaparte's title as king was:

His Majesty Louis I, By the Grace of God and the Constitution of the Kingdom, King of Holland.

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Lodewijk I (King Louis I): Details
CountryHolland
From5 June 1806
To1 July 1810
Personal Information Louis Napoléon Bonaparte
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Country Details
NameHolland
From1806
To1810
WikiSee Wikipedia page
FlagFlag of Holland