Copy of Napoleon's will sold for $483,000


Save Story
Leer en espaƱol

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PARIS (AP) - The only known copy of the will of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte has sold at auction for 357,000 euros $483,000 _ more than twice the expected price.

The French buyer said Wednesday he wanted to remain anonymous and planned to keep the will in a private collection. Druout auction house said the price included taxes and fees.

The will _ dated April 16, 1821 _ offered exceptional insights into Napoleon's final moments before his death 19 days later. The ailing 51-year-old wrote he wanted his ashes spread over Paris' Seine River. They were instead transferred to Paris' Invalides monument nearly two decades later.

The original, penned in Napoleon's own illegible hand, is in France's national archives. The copy was written by an adviser and was estimated at 120,000 euros.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Most recent Entertainment stories

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast