MONTIJO (de), Impératrice Eugénie (1826-1920)

MONTIJO (de), Impératrice Eugénie (1826-1920)

Autograph letter signed « Eugénie » to Marie-Thérèse Bartholoni
[Camden Place], Chislehurst, 1st June [1872], 2 pp. petit in-8°
Date “72” added in violet pencil (by another hand)
Some light stains on fourth page

Tender letter from exile by the Empress, conveying the respectful regards of her son, the Imperial Prince, to young ladies

« Depuis longtemps je voulais vous écrire, ma chère Madame Bartholoni, mais j’ai été comme vous le savez bien souffrante, et depuis que je vais mieux nous avons eu beaucoup de visites de France qui naturellement ont pris notre temps. Tout ce qui nous vient de là adoucit notre exil et c’est avec plaisir que nous pensons à votre séjour ici.
Mon fils me prie d’envoyer tous ses souvenirs à ces demoiselles et de leur dire combien leur présence a charmé Camden. Je m’acquitte de sa commission.
Nous attendons avec impatience des nouvelles de la Somme.
Croyez, chère Madame, à tous mes sentiments.
Eugénie
Nos souvenirs à M. Bartholoni »

Goddaughter of Chateaubriand and lady-in-waiting at the Tuileries to Princess Julie Bonaparte, Marie-Thérèse Bartholoni (1833–1910) was, by virtue of her beauty, one of the adornments of the court of the Second Empire.
Born Marie-Thérèse Frisell (1833–1910), she was the wife of Anatole Bartholoni (1822–1902), who served as a deputy in the Corps législatif from 1860 to 1869.
Marie-Thérèse Bartholoni hosted a distinguished salon that inspired Marcel Proust. The writer was a frequent guest between 1897 and 1899, and he also stayed at the Château de Coudrée, the Bartholoni family’s residence on the shores of Lake Geneva, between Thonon and Geneva. The sparkling conversation of the former “beauty of the Empire” appears to have left a lasting impression on him.
For a time, Marcel Proust courted one of Madame Bartholoni’s three daughters, Louise, known as “Kiki” (1857–1933), who was the goddaughter of Empress Eugénie.

A fateful date, that of June 1st, for the Prince and his mother, the Empress. Seven years to the day later, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, aged 23, met his death in Southern Africa, slain by Zulu warriors.