In my March column I introduced you to a young Prussian Princess named Dorothea. Dorothea was destined to become a Duchess and a major player, if behind the scenes, on the stages of European politics after Napoleon�s fall. But before that the future Duchess of Dino had to battle Napoleon herself.

Just to bring you up to speed, 15-year-old Princess Dorothea, daughter of the late Duke and very much alive Duchess Anne of Courland, had been cruelly tricked into giving up her dreams of marrying the much older Polish Prince Adam, and instead had accepted the only nephew and heir to the many titles of Prince Talleyrand, one Count Edmond Talleyrand-Pėrigord. Talleyrand didn�t have such a high opinion of his nephew, but he�d had no children himself, and Edmond was his only male heir. They were married on April 20, 1809, and to their mutual relief Edmond took off to join his regiment in Austria two days later. Dorothea and her companion Regina Hoffman set off to join Anne in Paris. There all of Europe lay at Napoleon�s little feet, and so remarkably did most of what was left of the old French aristocracy, despite what the Revolution had done to their ranks. Talleyrand himself had had a most checkered career before Dorothea was even born.

Prince Charles Maurice Talleyrand-Pėrigord was born in 1754, the second son of two parents descended from ancient French families. They spent much time at Louis XV�s Court. When he was three or four he fell off a chest of drawers, permanently damaging one foot. As the career for a second son was the army, and the career of the eldest to take over the title and administer the fortunes, Charles was in trouble on both counts. He couldn�t fulfill his army requirements, and was forced to relinquish the title to his younger brother Archambaud when their older brother died. His only alternative was the Church. If ever there existed a man less inclined to the life of a priest it was Talleyrand. He performed the offices but read Voltaire in his spare time. He attended Louis XVI�s coronation as a subdeacon. In 1780, due to his social position, and his uncle being the Archbishop of Reims, he was elected Agent-General of the French clergy. (President of the Union?). He worked on the government hard to ensure the clergy was paid a living wage. His negotiating skills got him recognized, but the King was not a fan. He became Bishop of Autum in 1789. Always a moderate Leftist he worked to bring the state and church together, and to show the King he was everyone�s monarch, not just the nobility�s. In 1790, when the government declared the Church take an oath of allegiance to the Assembly Talleyrand resigned his bishopric and was promptly ex-communicated. In 1792 he went to London as a diplomat, seeking England�s support for Napoleon�s war with Prussia and Austria. Prime Minister Pitt told him as long as they kept away from Dutch Netherlands England would stay out of it.

He returned to Paris only to get caught up in the Revolution and the execution of Louis XVI, who he never had a high opinion of as a king anyway. However the new French Convention, and general Napoleon, was no longer guaranteeing old treaties, nor welcomed Talleyrand. He fled to the new United States where he remained two years until it was safe for him to return to France. In 1797 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Always one with eyes on the winner he began advising Napoleon in secret. The general returned after taking out Austria and the Holy Roman Empire in 1799, but Talleyrand kept his head down. Napoleon, now as First Consul, was taking France down a very steep slope. Talleyrand wanted nothing but peace for her, inside and out. While he had trouble getting Napoleon to listen before, after he crowned himself Emperor it was impossible (Napoleon then went after Spain, kidnapping two of its princes and holding them prisoner in Talleyrand�s palace at Valen�ay until 1814).

Once they were ensconced in Talleyrand�s house he began his pursuit of Anne. She was more than willing but because she had always been a vociferous Napoleon supporter, Talleyrand�s advances were a potential minefield for her. Everything he had worked so hard to put in place, the Prince was now secretly working just as hard to dismantle. He figured that as the Emperor knew of Anne�s admiration for him it was a simple task to send her to Court to spy for him.

Both he and Empress Josephine welcomed her-plying her with gifts and private audiences. Meanwhile Dorothea was forced to welcome her erstwhile husband home in October of 1810. The following year saw many changes. Unable to bear him a son Napoleon had gone all Henry VIII and replaced his beloved Josephine with the much younger Austrian princess Marie-Louise. This had been Talleyrand�s idea, as a way to protect the Hapsburgs. That March Dorothea gave birth to her first child- a son they christened Napoleon-Louis. The baby�s godparents were the Emperor and Empress. To show his appreciation Dorothea was chosen as one of the Empress�s 12 ladies-in-waiting. Purely for social reasons Dorothea converted to Catholicism- although she really had no religious beliefs to speak of.

Little did she know of her mother�s plight; here was Anne in the midst of a passionate affair with the married enemy of her sovereign, who was heading for war with Russia, from whence came most of her wealth! Talleyrand�s opinions of Napoleon were having their effect on Anne though, and she was soon turning against Napoleon�s ambitions. The man was becoming a menace and Talleyrand heard that the Emperor was thisclose to throwing her out of the country. To keep her out of his space, and also as a place to conspire in private, Talleyrand installed Anne in a house in the St. Germain district. Dorothea knew nothing of this intrigue. She did know how spiteful Napoleon could be to perceived slights or criticisms however.

There is a story that the Court was all abuzz with false gossip about Edmond and how much he frittered away on jewelry. One day, as she was on duty at the Palace, Napoleon rounded on her, demanding to know what kind of idiot was she married to anyway?

Horrified, but steadfast, she looked him in the eye and told him that instead of criticizing them he should consider all the great things both Edmond and his uncle had performed on his behalf and take advantage of their loyalty and talents. She then lost her cool and fled from the room in tears. Napoleon, a big jerk under normal circumstances, must have thought even this was too much to throw at this little girl. Next day, the Court, all set to snub her, found itself instead fawning all over her after the Emperor invited her to sit and eat with him (considered an apology?) Little jerk, said Talleyrand when he heard of it-well that�s what he meant.

In January, 1812, Napoleon was completely sure that Russia was his for the taking. Edmond was promoted to Colonel, looking forward to battlefield glory and the heights he knew he was destined for. Dorothea was pregnant again and went reluctantly to live with Anne. Her second child, Dorothea-Charlotte-Emily was born in April. She was promoted in the Ladies ranks at Court. But at age 19, something huge was missing in her life. She didn�t know what it was, only that having children with a man she didn�t love it was not.

She wasn�t regarded as a ravishing beauty, but she had something about her that attracted men while making other women jealous. Once Anne departed again for her Polish estates this attractive characteristic was not lost on Talleyrand. He talked with her and engaged her in his politics and beliefs. He opened up a whole new world for her. She knew somehow that her destiny was going to be fulfilled with Talleyrand.

Edmond had his own troubles. He and what was left of his men were in full retreat from Moscow in December, 1813. Napoleon had already arrived in Paris and Dorothea was one of the first to see him at the Palace. She wrote a hurried note to Talleyrand to warn him. A few days later Edmond arrived, spent enough time with his wife to impregnate her, and took off back to Austria in a lost cause. The battle at Leipzig saw Napoleon�s army formally defeated with massive losses .Edmond was captured, but as an honoured guest he spent his time happily at the local gaming tables. Talleyrand successfully lobbied for his release in January, 1814. He�d missed the birth of his son Alexander-Edmond on December 15, named now after the conquering Russian Emperor. The last time they saw each other Napoleon called Talleyrand a coward, a traitor and a betrayer among other things. Talleyrand tried to resign but it was refused.

The triumphant Cossack troops had followed the ragtag French back to their own territories, led by the Tsar himself. Dorothea and Anne had been sequestered up north in one of Talleyrand�s estates. Dorothea was supposed to be on duty at the palace, although on March 29, a terrified Marie-Louise had scampered back to the safety of Vienna. Paris fell, and two days later the Tsar arrived, to move in with Talleyrand. Napoleon was arrested. But no one was actually in charge and Talleyrand had to be careful how he stepped here. Alexander and the other allies were not sure whether to restore Louis XVIII, establish a regency until Napoleon�s son was of age, or give the throne to the Orleans branch of the family.(see Court Jester columns of Sep-Oct-Nov 2005)..On April 1, the senate declared that Napoleon had abdicated. Thanks to England and the Tsar, and Talleyrand�s advice, France got back most of her pre1792 territories.

On May 10, her baby daughter died from measles. Dorothea had always been a loving mother and took this loss very hard. Edmond was little comfort and she realized finally that any chance for any version of a successful marriage with this man was gone. But she had a big job to occupy herself. Alexander was a volatile guy and keeping him happy at home and Talleyrand in his continued good graces was crucial to his plan to restore the Bourbons. Dorothea began to see her wily puppeteer uncle in a new light

Napoleon�s defeat meant that the four major allies, Russia, Prussia, Great Britain and Austria (minor players were Spain, Portugal and Sweden), had to decide how to revise the map of Europe and divide the spoils. They agreed to meet in Vienna, at the invitation of Emperor Francis II. Something of this magnitude had never happened before, and the Big Four sent their heaviest hitters to handle the delicate negotiations. Austria�s wily First Minister Prince Metternick hosted Tsar Alexander III for Russia, Prince von Hardenburg attended for Frederick William III of Prussia and Lord Castlereagh for Britain. And juggling it all to ensure France and Louis didn�t lose everything was Prince Talleyrand.

The King was afraid that since France had been the cause of this last war, one it had lost, that Talleyrand would find it difficult to be heard. To ease his way Talleyrand chose his �negotiating team� carefully. One was a famous chef, one a noted spy; while another was an expert at seeing that the right �secrets� got to the proper ears. And most importantly he needed a well-bred, spectacular hostess to handle the social aspects. This was not Princess Talleyrand

France had to make a fantastic impression on all of European society. For this Dorothea had the perfect qualifications-the brains, the status and the background. Her sisters were already in Vienna, angling for positions of power as mistresses to highly placed delegates, where they could get the best gossip. She was childhood friends with the Prussian royals and the Tsar was old friends with her mother. Not only was she thrilled to get out of Paris with all its unhappy memories, but knew in her heart that this was the role she was born to play, whatever it turned out to be. The 21-year-old was determined that she wasn�t just there to be a pretty face-she was going to accomplish something big in her uncle�s cause. Unfortunately, when Parisian society found out that Talleyrand was taking his niece, without her husband, tongues began to wag. Nothing physical was going on between them (and probably never did), but Dorothea was warned by Anne and others that everyone thought there was, so just be careful

They arrived in Vienna on September 23, to find everyone who was anyone already there. The Austrian Emperor entertained possibly over 100,000 foreigners, the majority of which were just there for the party atmosphere. All kinds of scandals, affairs, parties, theatricals, entertainments, balls, banquets, concerts, hunts, gambling soirees and such went on in profusion every day and every night. Dorothea starred in comedies. Prince Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy Onassis� sister Lee married a later Prince Radziwill) sang opera. Countess Esterhazy could be counted on to excel in German tragedies. Each high born princess had a day of the week for open house, which you attended depending on your interests. And one just had to be seen in Countess Zichy�s drawing-room on Saturdays.

While Dorothea was holding up her end in the ballrooms of the city Talleyrand enlisted the �help� of her sister Wilhelmina in his quest to reassert influence over the Russian Emperor. Wilhelmina, the Duchess of Sagan, and conveniently the longtime lover of Prince Metternich, was truly notorious. Her mission-seduce the Tsar away from Princess Bagration, niece of Catherine the Great. Wilhelmina cared for nothing or no one but her own pleasures. She was very wealthy, very beautiful and very selfish. Only Bagration could rival her there. These two were sharing a house, but one which was so big they never had to see each other, and in which the Viennese police had planted many spies. Eventually Wilhelmina wore the Emperor down and she became his new favourite. Jealous, he let her know that unless she gave up Metternich there might be a problem with her Russian money supply. Well, what�s a girl to do? Metternich never forgave her, and despite her efforts Alexander still didn�t really trust Talleyrand.

Dorothea behaved herself. She took part in extravagant evenings, but never lost sight of her job-be a great hostess and don�t let France down. Despite her young years she was having a great time and took to all the organizing and socializing like a duck to water. Talleyrand was shocked to realize how much had had come to value her.

Dorothea though was in love with another. His name was Count Clam, an Austrian cavalry major. A year older than her it did dawn on him that having such a high class mistress would do wonders for his career, but he was in love too. Word of their affair reached Edmond in Paris. (months later there was a newspaper report of a saber duel fought between Edmond and an unnamed Austrian cavalry major back in Paris, so perhaps he had tried to defend his honour-and got his face slashed for it).

On March 15, 1815 word reached the Congress that Napoleon had escaped from Elba and was marching on Paris. The Congress was due to end in three months, and until then Talleyrand, now Council High Chamberlain, had only one choice-make sure that Louis XVIII was established as the rightful French government, and that Napoleon was its enemy. Edmond had refused to rejoin the rebels and was headed off to join the King in exile at Ghent, as did Talleyrand. With her lover now gone too she decided it was time to go back to Paris. Dorothea returned to life with Edmond, but found it just wouldn�t work and she moved into Talleyrand�s house. Then Clam arrived, still besotted with her, and their affair resumed.

Life in Paris went from bad to worse for her. Talleyrand had his hands full keeping the government, the allies, the occupiers and the King all on the same side. Finally, exhausted from worry and divided loyalties she and Clam took off for Vienna. She knew it couldn�t last and when they returned the affair was broken off. Dorothea was now permanently ensconced in Talleyrand�s house, but there was the small matter of his wife also returning to live there. That would not do. Her plan-get rid of Princess Talleyrand. It wasn�t too hard. She had fled to England when Napoleon escaped. Talleyrand didn�t really want her back. The best Dorothea ended up with is the Princess coming back to live in Brussels. But she had ruthlessly succeeded in parting the couple forever, and for the next 20 years, until Talleyrand�s death, she was in charge.

In 1817 the King of Naples added some land to the ducal title he had already bestowed on Talleyrand. In turn Talleyrand granted his nephew and wife the titles of Duke and Duchess of Dino. Dino was a tiny island off the Calabrian coast, covered sparsely, populated with rabbits and worked maybe a bit of an anchovy industry. Dorothea didn�t care. She was a Duchess, and for the next two decades the Duchess of Dino would reign over Talleyrand. But first there was the July Monarchy to organize.

Stay tuned for the final chapter next month. By the way, would anyone be interested if a compilation of some of the Jester�s columns was published in book form? Let me know if you�d buy one (or more).

Anon.