Charles de Choiseul-Praslin - Legacy

Legacy

A persistent and popular rumor indicated that Choiseul-Praslin's death had been faked, and he had been allowed to leave the country, with many arguing that he lived the rest of his life in England. According to Nicaraguan researcher Eddy Kühl, Choiseul-Praslin survived and made his way to Matagalpa, where he fathered two sons, known locally as Jorge and Benjamín, and three daughters (Margarita, Eva and Gertrudis). According to this theory, the duke died in 1882 and was buried in Ciudad Darío. Kühl's investigation, first published in 2000, reportedly raised interest from the Choiseul-Praslin descendants living in France, who are said to have made known their wish to meet with the Nicaraguan claimants.

Escalating conflicts in a troubled period, the affair contributed to the outbreak of the 1848 Revolution, which occurred six months after the suicide. Following the establishment of the Second Republic, all documents regarding procedures in the case, together with all other acts of the Chamber of Peers, were sent to the National Archives.

Charles de Choiseul-Praslin is one of the main characters in Rachel Field's novel All This and Heaven Too (1938), which centers on the killing of Sébastiani's daughter, and which was the basis for a similarly titled 1940 film — starring Charles Boyer as the Duc, Barbara O'Neil as the Duchess, Montagu Love as Horace Sébastiani, and Bette Davis as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes. It was also the basis for a historical novel by the English writer Marjorie Bowen called Forget-Me-Not, although the characters' names are changed.