by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2020
Maria Walewska was a member of the Polish nobility, and became the mistress of the French Emperor Napoleon I, with whom she had one son.
photo: By François Gérard – Own work image taken by Mathiasrex, Maciej Szczepańczyk, 30 November 2013, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29934370
Countess Maria Łączyńska was born in Kiernozia, Poland on December 7, 1786, one of seven children of Count Mateusz Łączyński and Eva Zaborowska. She was privately educated for several years by Nicolas Chopin, the father of famed composer Frederic Chopin. Later, she attended the Our Lady of the Assumption convent in Warsaw, to complete her education in the manner expected of those from the aristocracy.
In 1804, Marie married Athenasius Count Colonna-Walewski, a former Chamberlain to the last King of Poland. She was just 17 at the time, while her husband was in his late 60s. Later Marie would say that her family pushed her into the marriage against her will. The couple had one son, Antoni Colonna-Walewski, born in 1805.
Emperor Napoleon I. source: Wikipedia
Marie first met Napoleon on January 1, 1807, when the Emperor passed through Blonie on his way to Warsaw. According to her memoirs, Marie and a cousin rushed to join the crowds, hoping to get a glimpse of his carriage. A French officer saw her trying to get closer and brought her over to Napoleon’s carriage to greet him personally. The Emperor gave her a bouquet which was sitting in his carriage, and said he hoped they would meet again soon, perhaps in Warsaw.
Shortly after that first meeting, Marie was invited to attend a ball held in Warsaw, where she again met the Emperor who was quickly smitten with her. The next day, the grand marshal of the palace arrived at her home with a large bouquet of flowers and a sealed letter from Napoleon. Several more letters followed before Marie agreed – with the consent of her family and her husband – to become the Emperor’s mistress. This was also encouraged by the members of the Polish aristocracy who hoped that this relationship might help them in their quest for Poland to regain its independence. Marie states in her memoirs that she agreed to the affair for this reason alone.
Their affair was very well known, yet they took every effort to keep it a secret. Marie would only come to see Napoleon at night, secretly entering and leaving the palace in darkness. She later took up apartments adjoining his at Finckenstein Palace in East Prussia which Napoleon used as his field headquarters. Still, she refused to leave the palace for fear of being seen and having their relationship discovered. When Napoleon moved to Vienna, she moved into a house adjacent to Schönbrunn Palace where the Emperor was living. During this time, she became pregnant and on May 4, 1810, she gave birth to her only child with the Emperor, Alexandre Joseph. Although Napoleon’s son, he was recognized as the son of her husband and was titled Count Alexandre Joseph Colonna-Walewski.
The following year, she followed the Emperor back to Paris. There, she was given a large residence on the Rue de Montmorency as well as a very generous allowance. However, around the same time, her romance with Napoleon came to an end. He was planning to divorce his wife Josephine and marry Marie Louise of Austria. The end was very amicable, and Napoleon ensured that Marie and their son were very well provided for financially.
Philippe Antoine, Count d’Ornano. source: Wikipedia
In 1812, Marie divorced her husband and received half of his estates, which in addition to the money provided by the Emperor, made Marie a very wealthy woman. Four years later, in September 1816, she married for a second time to Philippe Antoine, Count d’Ornano, a prominent military leader and a second cousin of Napoleon. They settled in Liege, and Marie became pregnant right away. In January 1817, while on a visit to Poland, she was diagnosed with a kidney disease, which became worse due to her pregnancy. The couple’s only child – Rudolph Augustus d’Ornano was born in Liege on June 9, 1817. However, Marie’s health continued to deteriorate. Over the next several months, she dictated her memoirs to her secretary. The Countess d’Ornano died in Paris on December 11, 1817, at just 31 years old. Per her wishes, her heart was interred in the Ornano family crypt at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, while her body was returned to Poland and buried with her family in Kiernozia.
Marie’s coffin in the family crypt in Kiernozia, Poland. photo: By Jolanta Dyr – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25352176
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