Caroline Bonaparte

Born 25 March 1782, the seventh child of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino, Caroline was Napoleon's younger sister and grew up in the slipstream of his rise. In 1800 she married Joachim Murat, one of Napoleon's most important and notorious generals, who became Marshal of the Empire and Prince Murat. When Murat was made King of Naples, Caroline became queen. But the title wasn't ceremonial: she served as regent four times during his absences — in 1812–1813, 1813, 1814, and 1815 — holding the kingdom together while he fought. She died 18 May 1839, decades after the empire collapsed.