Hippolyte Charles (6 July 1773-8 March 1837) was a French Army officer and the lover of Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Josephine de Beauharnais.
Biography[]
Hippolyte Charles was born in Romans-sur-Isere, Drome department, France in 1773, and he joined the French Army as a volunteer. He became a lieutenant in a hussar regiment and aide-de-camp to General Charles Leclerc, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother-in-law. In 1796, he met Josephine de Beauharnais in Paris and began an affair with her almost immediately, seducing her with his sense of humor and his relaxed nature. The two lovers had an on-and-off relationship until 17 March 1798, when the lovers were denounced to Napoleon during his Egyptian Campaign. Napoleon responded by writing to his brother Joseph Bonaparte to prepare for divorce, but Admiral Horatio Nelson intercepted the letter and published it in London newspapers to humiliate the rising star of the French Army. Napoleon had his revenge by having an affair with Pauline Foures, the wife of an officer. In 1804, Charles bought the estate of Cassan with money he obtained through dubious business deals with Josephine. In 1808, he traveled to Spain during the Peninsular War and acquired looted Incan treasures, adding considerably to his wealth. He sold his estate in 1828 and retired to his native land of Drome, buying an expensive castle in Genissieux and dying in 1837.