Betsy Balcombe

Background

Lucia Elizabeth Balcombe was born in 1802 as the second child of William and Jane Balcombe, née Cranston. Her father was Superintendent of Public Sales for the East India Company.

Career

She and her family"s closeness to Napoleon attracted the suspicion of Governor Hudson Lowe. In October 1815 the former Emperor Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena by the British government. Because Napoleon"s residence, Longwood House, had not yet been rehabilitated, he was housed in a pavilion near "The Briars" for the next two months.

Although Balcombe was fearful of Bonaparte the first time they met, over time she and the emperor became best friends.

The French officers and servants were jealous of the young English girl, who addressed Napoleon as "Boney", without being reprimanded by him. After Napoleon was removed to Longwood House, Balcombe would often visit him.

The European press recognised the relationship between the 47-year-old Napoleon and the teenage girl and wrote about a love story. In March 1818, the Balcombes left Saint Helena and went back to England.

In May 1821, Betsy Balcombe married Edward Abell and had a daughter.

The marriage soon failed. Balcombe earned money by teaching music In the 1830s she went to her family in New South Wales, Australia.

Years later she returned to London.

She remained in contact with the Bonaparte family all her life. In 1830, Joseph Bonaparte visited Balcombe in London.

In 1871, Balcombe died in London, aged 69, and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. In 1960, the Australian writer Dame Mabel Brookes (1890–1975), Betsy Balcombe"s grandniece, bought "The Briars" and gave it to the French nation.

Napoléon is an historical Digital Video Disc television Miniseries of Napoleon"s life, in which 14-year-old Betsy Balcombe (played by Tamsin Egerton-Dick) appears, in the opening and closing scenes, that bracket Napoleon"s daydream reverie of his career.

In the opening scene, she parries with Governor Hudson Lowe outside Longwood House, to allow her to visit Napoleon. In the closing scene, she bids her goodbye to a crestfallen Napoleon, telling him that it is her last visit to him, as she is returning to England with her father - at which Napoleon tells her that he blames Hudson Lowe for depriving him of her visits, his last pleasure in life. Monsieur North. is a fictional picture of Napoleon"s life in Street Helena island, in which Betsy Balcombe (played by Siobhan Hewlett).

Napoleon said to Hudson Loewe "Men"s passion for the beautiful is such that they are willing to sacrifice the reason".

Connections

friendship:

Hudson Lowe