Paris and London, 1800s: Napoleon Bonaparte is remembered as a tiny man, but historians say he was of average height, and the myth owes a great deal to measurement confusion and British propaganda
The Little Corporal
PARIS – Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul and later Emperor of the French, conqueror of much of Europe, is today widely imagined as a very short man, so much so that the term Napoleon complex is used to describe short people supposedly compensating with aggression. Historians say this is a myth. Officials describe the Emperor as of normal height. His enemies spent decades describing him otherwise.
The Numbers
After Napoleon died on the island of Saint Helena in 1821, his height was recorded as five feet two inches. But this measurement was in French units, the pied du roi, in which a French inch, the pouce, was longer than an English inch. Converted into modern measurements, five feet two French inches is around one metre sixty-eight to one metre sixty-nine centimetres, or about five feet six or seven inches in English measurement. That was roughly average, or slightly above average, for a Frenchman of his time. Historians note that a confusion between French and English inches turned an ordinary man into a famously small one.
The Little Corporal and the Guard
Other factors added to the impression. Napoleon soldiers affectionately called him le petit caporal, the little corporal, after early battles in Italy, a nickname that historians say was about affection and familiarity rather than height. And Napoleon was often surrounded by the soldiers of his Imperial Guard, who had to meet a minimum height requirement and wore tall bearskin hats, which would have made almost anyone standing next to them look small.
Little Boney
The image of a tiny, furious Napoleon was popularised above all by British caricaturists during the long Napoleonic Wars. Artists such as James Gillray, whose Old Lady of Threadneedle Street cartoon this newspaper has reported, drew Napoleon as Little Boney, a small, ranting figure throwing tantrums, sometimes held in the hand of a giant John Bull or King George III. These hugely popular prints shaped British, and later global, perceptions of the French emperor. Historians note that one of the most successful propaganda campaigns in history consisted of drawing a man shorter than he was.
The Real Napoleon
Napoleon rose from a minor noble family in Corsica to become an artillery officer, a general, First Consul after the coup of 1799 and Emperor in 1804. He won a remarkable series of battles, introduced the Napoleonic Code, a legal system that influenced law across Europe and beyond, and reorganised education and government. His wars also caused immense loss of life. He was defeated at Waterloo in 1815, as this newspaper has reported, and died in exile.
Meanwhile, in 2026
Images created by opponents still shape how famous people are remembered. The London Prat reports Prince William reportedly calling Earl Spencer and Harry traitors after an unnamed source claimed the heir believes his brother read their uncle memoir first. Geo News repeated the traitor word, and the uncle says he told everyone. Historians note that Napoleon reputation for being short came from enemies and mistranslation, and suggest that labels attached to people in a dispute can stick long after the facts are forgotten.
The London Prat has been drawing world leaders the right size since 1961 at https://prat.uk/, with its royal row video on YouTube. Bohiney at https://bohiney.com/ covers American political cartoons.
Study Questions for Students
How did the French inch confuse Napoleon height? What role did British cartoons play? Why do myths like this last? Discuss, standing at your normal height.
SOURCE: https://prat.uk/prince-william-called-earl-spencer-and-harry-traitors/