You haven’t achieved anything yourself yet …

You yourself have not yet achieved anything to deserve having people wear your portrait. That was what the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte wrote to his younger farmer after he had founded a knighthood as King of Holland.

Order of the Union

In June 1806, Louis Napoleon had been in his new kingdom for barely two weeks. Too short a time to realise that it often rained there even in summer. But long enough to realise that his kingdom did not have its own order of knighthood. He had even already chosen a name for his order: the Order of the Union.

A fascinating exchange of letters

Louis Napoleon informed the Emperor of his plans by letter. And, for convenience’s sake, he also included a sketch of the new insignia. The two brothers subsequently exchanged several letters on the matter. It makes for fascinating reading: the Emperor, who didn’t really think it was such a good idea at all, and his brother, who was determined to go ahead with it come what may. With every letter, you can almost see the steam coming out of the Emperor’s ears.

I do not want anyone in my kingdom to wear Your insignia

Napoleon advised his brother not to act hastily and to wait for a suitable moment, such as his coronation. But when he heard that his brother had founded not one, but two orders of chivalry, he reacted with irritation: ‘You always ask me for advice, but you never follow it!’ And a few months later he asked: ‘What have these new knights done to deserve the honours you are bestowing upon them? Where are the wounds they have sustained for the fatherland, and what special talents do they possess? And regarding the portrait of the king on the front of the order’s insignia, he wrote angrily: ‘You yourself have achieved nothing yet to deserve having your portrait worn.’ And matters came to a head when it came to the Emperor’s attention that his brother was also admitting French subjects into his order. ‘I do not want anyone in my realm to wear your order. Nor will I do so myself.’

The End

The issue of the orders of chivalry was not even the most serious source of friction in the relationship between Napoleon and his brother. But it was certainly the first.

In June 1810, Napoleon sent troops to the Kingdom of Holland. But Louis Napoleon had by then abdicated the throne. He had fled his kingdom.

And what about the two Bonaparte brothers? What do you think? Would things ever have worked out between the two of them?

GEORGE SANDERS

© The order’s insignia forms part of the collection of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Museum of the Chancellery of the Dutch Orders; the drawing is held at the Archives Nationales in Paris; the bust is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum; and the painting is in that of the Amsterdammuseum.