Letizia Bonaparte

Maria-Letizia Bonaparte (née Ramolino; 24 August 1750 or 1749 – 2 February 1836), commonly known as Letizia Bonaparte, was a Corsican noblewoman and the mother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. Due to her status as the Emperor's mother, she was granted the title "Madame Mère" (French for "Madame Mother").

Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, then part of the Republic of Genoa, she married Carlo Buonaparte in 1764. The couple had thirteen children, of whom eight survived to adulthood. Following her husband's death in 1785, she relocated to mainland France, where her son Napoleon emerged as a key figure during the French Revolution. Throughout the rise and reign of the First French Empire, she held a significant, albeit informal, position within French society. After Napoleon's abdication in 1815, Letizia spent her later years in Rome under the protection of Pope Pius VII, maintaining a secluded existence until her death in 1836.