As King of Westphalia, Napoleon married Jérôme to a German princess – Catherine of Württemberg – who was of respectable descent. King Jérôme ruled this in Germany and was married to a German.
On June 24, 1860, Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, died. Jérôme, like most of Napoleon’s brothers, was given the royal title because his brother placed him at the head of the Kingdom of Westphalia, an unusual creation in Germany. The Kingdom of Westphalia was created in 1807 from the territory of several former states in Germany. At its peak, it covered about 63,600 square kilometers and had a population of about 2,600,000.
Jérôme Bonaparte was even 15 years younger than Napoleon. When he became King of Westphalia, Jérôme was only 22 years old and already had one marriage behind him, with American Elizabeth Patterson. He lived with her in America for a time, and he also had descendants who formed the American branch of the Bonaparte dynasty. However, on the orders of his brother, he had to divorce his wife. Indeed, as King of Westphalia, Napoleon then married him to a German princess – Catherine of Württemberg – who was of respectable descent. King Jérôme therefore ruled in Germany and was married to a German. Its capital was in the city of Kassel, the former capital of the state of Hessen-Kassel. Near this town Jérôme had a residence in the castle Wilhelmshöhe, with a beautiful environment (in Napoleon’s time this complex was renamed Napoleonshöhe).
