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Fanny Dillon

Elisabeth Francoise "Fanny" Dillon (25 July 1785-6 March 1836) was a French noblewoman.

Biography[]

Elisabeth Francoise Dillon was born in Gognies-Chaussee, Nord, France in 1785, the daughter of the Irish-French general Arthur Dillon and his Martinican wife. Her father was executed during the Reign of Terror when Fanny was eight years old, during which time she was living in Martinique with her mother. She and her mother later emigrated to England, and she lived between London and Norwich until they returned to France in 1802. She was courted by Emperor Napoleon's aide-de-camp Henri Gatien Bertrand, whom she married in 1808 despite her initial negative feelings towards him. She later accompanied her husband to join Napoleon on Elba, and she informed Napoleon of Josephine de Beauharnais' death. After the Battle of Waterloo, she and her husband followed Napoleon to Saint Helena, where they witnessed his death on 5 May 1821. She and her family then returned to England, and she died in France in 1836.

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