Bonaparte had an enormous number of mistresses. Among them were ladies of arms in almost all European capitals and poor middle-class women. Most of his mistresses were recruited from among the courtesans of his sisters, and Parisian actresses and singers. Many of these women helped him in his career. Among them was also a Polish woman, Maria Walewska, with whom he had a son, Joseph Florian Alexander Count Colona Walewski. The emperor is credited with six illegitimate children and one legitimate son, Napoleon II Bonaparte, known as "the Eaglet."
