The History and Magnificence of Emperor Napoleon’s “Home of Kings”
If you love the idea of visiting grand French chateaux, but maybe you don’t like the idea of fighting the crowds like you will find at Versailles, you should definitely add stunning Fontanebleau to your list. This is the only royal chateau to be continuously inhabited
By members of the royal family of France for over 700 years, dating back from Louis VII, Elanore of Aquitaine’s first husband, right down through Napoleon III. The chateau also houses the Museum of Napoleon the first, which we will come to a little later in the video, but it is worth a
Visit out here just for that museum. Fontanebleau was first mentioned in 1137 and was the favorite hunting lodge of all the kings of France right down through the ages, although the original medieval castle that was here that maybe Eleanore of Aquitine would have visited has long since
Disappeared as each successive generation of Kings has made changes and additions and subtractions to this amazing place as they’ve passed through it. Being an English history nerd, I also found it interesting that Thomas Becket him himself actually consecrated the original chapel here
In 1169. The name of Fontanebleau also comes from an interesting fountain nearby that you can still visit. It was named for Fountain of Beautiful Water or Fontaine belle eau. In the early 1500s, King Francois I was instrumental in changing the original medieval bones of this palace into more
Of what you see now. He turned it into a grand new Renaissance chateau, and it’s actually said that the Renaissance was introduced to France here by him, and his grandson Henry IV also later added what would be the largest indoor tennis court in the world at the time. Louis XIII was born here,
And his widow, Anne of Austria (Louis the XIV’s mother) redecorated the apartments in the Wing of the Queen Mother to suit herself. Louis XIV spent more time here than any of the other kings, hunting often and making few changes, although he did add an apartment for his final and secret
Wife, one Madame de Maintenon, who was originally the governess of his children by a prior long-term mistress. There is a long story there that is worth reading if you love historical romance biographies. There are also stories of drama and murder here as well. In November of 1657,
Sweden’s exiled Queen Christina, who had abdicated her throne, stayed here for a time, and when she became suspicious that her Master of Horse and reputed lover was betraying her secrets to her enemies, her servants actually chased him through the halls here at Fontanebleau and stabbed him to
Death, and when King Louis came to visit her here shortly afterwards, he diplomatically made no mention at all of the murder, and Queen Christina continued on her travels. Later on in 1717, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great was hosted here by the French, with a hunt and a great banquet,
Which officially was a great success, but later one of his entourage actually said that Peter found the whole visit not to his liking: he didn’t like the French style of hunting; he thought the chateau wasn’t grand enough; he didn’t like French wine– he preferred beer;
And he did not like the French court’s habit of sleeping in late after a night of partying, as he was an early riser. So, kind of like a bad Royal Yelp review from a long time ago. Louis XVI made renovations here, which included a brand new apartment for Marie Antoinette, including
An incredible bed which she never got to use, and we will see that a little bit later. King Louis and Marie Antoinette would leave Fontanebleau for the last time in 1786, just before the Revolution broke out. A visitor here during their time said that she remembered seeing Marie Antoinette
Strolling outside Fontanebleau with her ladies, and that all of the diamonds she was wearing made her look like a goddess surrounded by her nymphs. It was also here that England’s famous Prime Minister William Pitt and the firebrand sidekick that he traveled with, William Wilburforce, first
Also met Marie Antoinette at a stag hunt after a sort of funny story happened to them, where they had been unlucky enough to entrust their introduction at court to a man who later turned out to be nothing but a grocer, who hadn’t the authority to introduce them to anyone. It’s said
That the queen often teased them on the subject later, although they found her to be a “Monarch of the most engaging manners and appearance”. Sadly, during the Revolution, Fontanebleau was gutted. The windows were removed, the furnishings were sold at auction, and it was left derilict and
Empty. In 1803 Napoleon installed a military school here, and then he decided to hastily renovate and redecorate the entire chateau in 1804 before his December coronation, when the pope was planning to visit, and he was staying here. Napoleon decided to “make something of this ruin”
And return it to its former glory. Napoleon had furniture brought out from Paris to Fontanebleau and managed to refurbish 40 state departments and 200 suites inside of 19 days. He also transformed the prior Queen Mother’s bedroom into what is now called the Pope’s Rooms. In sadder times
For Napoleon, in the late Autumn of 1809, just before announcing his divorce from Josephine after 15 years of marriage, he had the passages here at Fontanebleau between his and her apartments walled up. Napoleon also turned what had always been the Bedroom of Kings into his own private throne room,
As you can still see, this incredible room still exists with his original throne. It is the only surviving Napoleonic throne room in existence. His throne still sits under the ceiling designed for the ornate bedroom of Louis XIII. It was also in this room that the news of his second
Wife Marie Louise’s highly anticipated pregnancy was announced to the Imperial Court. Fontanebleau would also be Napoleon’s place of exile, as he came here and was confined to his apartments after France fell to the Allies in 1814, and it was at the table in the very room that you can
Still see where he signed the abdication papers. He signed two actually, one on April the 4th and another on April the 6th. He survived a failed suicide attempt in his room here on the night of April 13th of 1814, where possibly his huge ego actually saved his life, because instead of taking
What would have been a human dose of poison, instead he swallowed enough to kill a horse, and all it did was make him very sick. On April 20th, having survived that, he made one of history’s most memorable farewell speeches to his soldiers from the foot of the iconic horseshoe
Stairway before his exile to the island of Elba. He would be back briefly for a few hours on March 20th of 1815 during his 100 days, when he returned from Elba before his final and fatal exile to the
Island of St Helena. In a fun history geek side note, do *not* miss the reenactment of Napoleon’s final days here. It takes place in April I think every year. It was on break for a couple of years,
But it has returned. We unfortunately will be missing it this year. We will be in Paris and leaving to go out to the country just before the event starts, but we definitely want to go
See it if we have time. I would highly recommend it, and a huge thank you to my friend Shannon at This French Life for letting us know about this cool event! Napoleon’s successor Napoleon III was actually the son of Josephine’s daughter Hortense de Beauharnais, who had married Louis Bonaparte,
And he redecorated the chateau with his wife the Empress Eugenie. In 1780 the Second Empire fell, and the chateau closed. In fact, the Empress Eugenie would actually be the last prior royal resident to visit Fontanebleau on June 26th of 1920, about 2 weeks before her own death at the
Age of 94. Fontanebleau became a national museum in 1927. It was occupied twice by the Germans during World War II, and then in 1986 the Napoleon I Museum was created here, and that is amazing to walk through. You will see souvenirs from his life, his campaigns, there are
Beautiful pieces of his private travel cutlery and toiletries. There’s part of his coronation crown. His coat and hat are here. There is a beautiful opulent ton of gold serving pieces that they used. There is a recreation of his campaign tent, and there is an amazing room dedicated to Napoleon II,
His son with Marie Louise. You can see his cradle. You can learn about him and his short life. He did not live to rule, and you can also see his little toys, his little sword, he’s got all these little child-sized military items that belonged to Napoleon’s son, so very cool Museum to walk
Through. The self-guided walk through the chateau is amazing. It will take you from one beautiful suite of rooms to the next. You’ll see the Gallery de Francois I decorated with the arms of France and statues of himself of course, his initials everywhere, and his salamander emblem. You’ll pass
Through the ballroom, which was originally just a passageway but was enclosed by Henry II in 1552 and decorated with his royal monogram as well as the crescent moon emblem of his lifelong mistress Diane de Poitiers. The Stairway of Kings was built in the space once occupied by Francois I’s
Favorite mistress, Anne de Pisseleu, incorporating some of the decorative elements from her bedroom that you can still see today in the stairway. I think my favorite place of course would have been the Queen’s Bedroom. All the Queens from Marie de Medici down through Empress Eugenie slept here.
The ceiling was made in 1644 for Anne of Austria, Louis the XIV’s mother. The doors and the panels surrounding them were made for Marie Antoinette, and so was the incredible bed, but it sadly did
Not arrive in time for her to use it before her tragic end, and so it passed on and was actually slept in by Napoleon’s wives, both Josephine and Marie Louise. The wall coverings here were done in 1805, and they were restored in a 1968 through 1986 renovation similar to the original fabric,
But the furnishings here all date to the first Empire and are original. The incredible Boudoir of Marie Antoinette is here as well. If you’re interested in a great read about Marie Antoinette and the love of her life, Axel von Fersen, who was a Swedish count, there is a historian who’s
Been able to read their redacted letters that they wrote to each other at towards the end of her life, and they are amazing. There’s definitely a story there! I will link those below, but this room is one of the best surviving examples of the style of Marie’s time, and some of the furnishings
Here are original, including the desk, the table and the foot stool, and her initials still adorn the door. The council chamber here was originally the office of Francois I. It was converted to a council room and used by Napoleon, and the furnishings here are from his time. The Pope’s
Rooms used to be the Queen Mother’s rooms. These were converted from the bedroom that had been Marie de Medici, Anne of Austria, Louis XIV’s heir, the daughter of Louis XV, the brother of Louis XVI, and then also the room that was used specially by Hortense de Beauharnais
And her husband Louis Bonaparte when they stayed here during the first Empire. The Gallery of Diana is a 242-foot long gallery that was built by Henry IV so his Queen could have a place to walk. It was originally covered in paintings, but Napoleon III turned it into a library,
And the amazing globe you see here was brought in 1861 from Napoleon’s office at the Tuilleries in Paris… kind of surreal to think of all the people that have passed through these halls and to think of Napoleon standing at this very globe and plotting world domination. Napoleon’s own suite
Of rooms were converted from Louis XVI’s prior suite. The bed was made especially for Napoleon, and so wore the carpet and chairs, with special designs built into the chairs to contain the heat from the fire but also allow a view of the fireplace and the decorations there. This room
Has a little door (if I recall) there was a small door, you couldn’t go in but you could see through it. It opened into a little private bathroom that was just for Napoleon, and I believe there’s a
Bathtub and a nice little bathroom back in there. He also had a bed installed in his private library so he could work and then also just take a quick nap and go right back to work, as was his habit.
The chapel was built by Francois I and finished in the mid 1600s with frescos and painting. It also has an upper royal part and a lower gallery for the court, much like the Sainte-Chappelle in Paris. This chapel has also undergone multiple renovations and restorations, but it did see
The wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska, I think is how you say her name. Napoleon III was baptized here, and the son of King Philippe was married here in 1837. If you’re planning a visit,
I would spend a whole day here. I believe there’s a restaurant. There is a full garden that we did not visit, but I would love to hear if you’ve been to the place that Napoleon called “the
True residence of Kings, a house for the ages”. Thanks for watching and we’ll see you in the next video.
Walk through the Napoleon I museum and the history of the stunningly beautiful chateau de Fontainebleau with us.
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Fontainebleau photo credits
Jeu de pomme: machine-readable author provided. BenP assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Napoleon III Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
empress Eugenie https://picryl.com/media/empress-eugenie-1854-231948
Napoleon III and empress André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Queens bedroom wall covering https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/2935084663
Marie Antoinette Yann Caradec from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Axel von ferson https://picryl.com/media/axel-von-fersen-6a69a3
Gallerie of Diana Thor19, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons