Joachim murat prince of pontecorvo spy

In June 1790, Revolutionary France abolished the use of titles of nobility. While France was still a kingdom—for now—its Second Order no longer had a hereditary place at the top of society. Legally, there were no more dukes or princes in France. A decade later, in May 1804, First Consul Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of the French, and when he was crowned in Notre Dame in December, he needed a court composed of an entourage with noble honours. At first he created an imperial family, with the title ‘prince français’ for his brothers Joseph and Louis and his brother-in-law Joachim Murat, later extended to his other brothers Jérôme and (grudgingly, only at the very end) Lucien, plus his sister Elisa, his adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais, his adopted daughter Stéphanie de Beauharnais, and his uncle, Joseph Fesch. Also granted the rank of prince were those who held one of the Grand Dignities of State: two Arch-Chancellors (Empire and State), an Arch-Treasurer, a Grand Elector, a Grand Constable, a Grand Admiral and a Grand Huntsman. A year later an eighth, the Grand Almoner, was added, and by 1810 there were twelve. In keeping with the still pseudo-meritocratic ideals of the First Empire, these were essentially nobles of service, ie they weren’t inherently noble people, they jus

•