L’hôtel d’Eugène de Beauharnais à Paris se raconte

Dans le très beau salon des quatre saisons de l’hôtel de Beauharnais à Paris, des cygnes dorés s’invitent sur les pilastres qui courent autour de la pièce. Sur la corniche qu’ils supportent, ce sont des aigles, tout aussi resplendissant d’or, qui déploient leurs ailes. Lorsqu’il fut créé, au tout début du XIXe siècle, ce décor n’était en rien anodin.

L’aigle évoque Napoléon Bonaparte, le cygne son beau-fils Eugène de Beauharnais. Ce dernier est devenu propriétaire de cette belle demeure, édifiée en 1713 par l’architecte Boffrand, le 20 mai 1803 à l’âge de 22 ans. Et, bénéficiant des conseils avisés en matière de déco de sa mère Joséphine de Beauharnais et de sa sœur Hortense, et surtout de la générosité de l’empereur Napoléon Ier, qui à cette époque voyait en lui un successeur pour le trône, Eugène a fait subir aux lieux, en seulement quelques années, une totale et fort coûteuse métamorphose intérieure. parismatch/Royal-Blog/royaute-francaise/L-hotel-d-Eugene-de-Beauharnais-a-Paris-se-raconte-1111091

Eugène de Beauharnais

“Prince Eugène de Beauharnais”
One of the earliest representations of Eugène, it depicts him at age 18 as Napoléon’s aide-de-camp in the Egyptian campaign. Napoléon was close to both of his stepchildren. He adopted Eugène in 1805, and then made him a prince and later Viceroy of Italy. 
Historical Provenance - Joséphine Bonaparte family collection
Oil on canvas

Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of theKingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam (3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie, future wife of French Emperor Napoléon I.

He was born in Paris, France and became the stepson and adopted child (but not the heir to the imperial throne) of Napoleon. His natural father was executed during the revolutionary Reign of Terror. He commanded the Army of Italy and was viceroy of Italy under his stepfather.

In 14 June 1804 he was made an official member of the imperial family as His Imperial Highness, French Prince (Prince français) Eugène de Beauharnais. By a statute of 5 June 1805 the Emperor added Viceroy of Italy to his titles.

Prince Eugène was adopted by Napoleon on 12 January 1806; while excluded from the French empire's succession, he was given presumptive rights for him and his descendants in the male line to the throne of Italy in the absence of a second son of Napoleon on 16 February 1806, and hence on 20 December 1807 given the title of Prince de Venise ('Prince of Venice'), which had been instituted by article 9 of the decree of 30 March 1806 (when the former Austrian province of Venice was united to Bonaparte's kingdom of Italy) for the Heir Presumptive to Napoleon in Italy.

His stepfather also made him heir to the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt in 1810 and hence he technically succeeded as Grand Duke to Archbishop Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, the Prince-Primate of the Confederation of the Rhine, upon the latter's abdication in 1813.^{[dubious – discuss]} This position, however, was purely theoretical, as Dalberg's abdication was due to his Grand Duchy's imminent conquest by the Allied armies.

Princess Augusta of Bavaria

painting by Joseph Karl Stieler c. 1820

In 1806, Eugène married Princess Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia of Bavaria (1788–1851), eldest daughter of Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, and his royal father-in-law made him Duke of Leuchtenberg and gave him the administration of the Principality of Eichstätt on 14 November 1817. 

He died on 21 februari 1824

                      Tomb of Eugène de Beauharnais,  St. Michael (München)

Eugène de Beauharnais, de broer van Hortense.

Prinses Auguste Amalia Ludovika (Straatsbug, Duitsland, 21 juni 1788 - München, Duitsland, 13 mei 1851), was de oudste dochter van Maximilian I Joseph van Beieren en Auguste Wilhelmine van Hessen-Darmstadt.