Marie Walewska

Polish Countess
(1789-1817)

One of the great loves of Napoleon Bonaparte's life, Marie Walewska was a beautiful countess who met the French emperor after his forces occupied Warsaw in 1807.

Seen by Polish patriots as a way of improving her country's lot with the emperor, Walewska's affair with Bonaparte grew into a long, deep friendship.

They had a child, Alexandre, in 1810, and this proved to Bonaparte he could produce a legitimate heir to the throne of France.

Of all his female companions, Walewska was the only one to journey to see Bonaparte during his exile on Elba.