When Napoleon's first marriage to Joséphine de Beauharnais was annulled,[4] the possibility that he might marry Charlotte was suggested by her aunt Pauline Bonaparte, as this would have consolidated family power.

[3] As a consequence of the increasingly abrasive relationship between Lucien and Napoleon, Charlotte, her father, her stepmother Alexandrine de Bleschamp, sibling and half-siblings and household attempted to sail to the United States on 5 August 1810.

[3] During the restoration of her uncle Napoleon for a period known as the Hundred Days, Charlotte was granted the title of French Princess (22 March 1815) and the qualification of Imperial Highness.

The "Villa Gabrielli al Gianicolo" was one of the must-see stops of Grand Tour travellers because of the magnificent view of the city, and is currently the Roman headquarters of the Pontifical North American College.

With the rise of Emperor Napoleon III, Charlotte was again officially included in the Imperial family and recognized as Princess Bonaparte with the qualification of Highness (21 February 1853).

She was represented by the French painter Jean-Baptiste Wicar as a young peasant woman in a life-size portrait, today in the collections of the Museo Napoleonico in Rome.