How could some of Napoleon's major puppets survive?

Wasn't Alexander I in favour of Eugene or the de Beaharnaises getting something otu of it? I seem to recall Metternich also offered him something if he'd drop Napoléon (through his father-in-law). But then again, I'd count my fingers after shaking hands with either. How serious both were (Alexander was for Louis Philippe or Bernadotte becoming ruler of France, and Metternich was in favour of the king of Rome) is obviously relative, though
Alexander was (at least ostensibly) supportive of Eugene, same as he apparently made some promises to Murat too: when it came the moment of drawing lines on the map of Europe the idealistic Alexander became again a hard-lined defender of immediate Russian interests.
IIRC, Eugene's father in law urged him to distance himself from Napoleon at the end of 1813, beginning 1814. It may well has been because Metternich pushed him to do it, but there was never a mention of what Eugene could have kept. The kingdom of Italy was out of the question, since the strategic goal of Austria was to become the dominant power in Italy. Maybe a principality in Romagna, with possibly the addition of Bologna (the other papal legation, Ferrara, would go to Austria in such a case): it would have meant that the Papal States would not have been reconstituted, or at least would have been pruned down to Latium only. While the end to the temporal power of the pope was considered, in the end the Powers refrained from doing so: Metternich himself regretted this decision during the 1830s when it became clear that the awful government of the Papal States could not and would not be reformed.
The other alternative would have been a two-penny crown in the Germanies, but I doubt very much Eugene would have considered such an offer. In the end anyway the necessary condition was a betrayal of Napoleon in January-February 1814, with Eugene throwing himself to the dubious mercy of the Coalition Powers, and this was not a move that Eugene was willing to consider either.
 
Sorry for replying so late to this thread.

I think Murat has a chance, potentially even mere inactivity in 1815 could have saved him, but by that point he had alienated everyone, so that's hard.
Apparently he had been in talks with Austria and Britain already in very early 1813, but then the lure of the Leipzig campaign changed things. So what if he is prevented, by illness for example from joining Napoleon then? It is possible that he would be deemed a coward traitor and Napoleon might even go as far as making movements in the direction of granting Naples' crown to Eugene, which would incensate a man of Joachim's character. At this point the alliance with Austria and Northward offensive might be less than a triple-cross farce and more a military useful operation leading to earlier collapse of French positions in Italy. Joachim having proven himself a useful member of the alliance would be allowed to keep his throne, even though one has to always take into account British support for the Sicilian Bourbons.

Having Murat in Naples can only improve the Southern Kingdom's situation, continuing the reforming path of the "French decade", not ceding back huge rights to the Church and having a better focus on education.

The interesting part of course, if Murat Naples is successful (and I think in that case Sicily might eventually get rid of the Bourbon), will be the dualism with Savoy Sardinia-Piedmont.

As to Eugene, to me it seems very hard for Beauharnais to get any Italian principalty, as he has several disadvantages compared to Murat, such as his true royalty to Napoleon, the fact that he occupies ancestral Habsburg possessions (Milan) and that he can't really offer much to the allies if he turns apart from having their armies more easily cross the Po valley to gight it out with the French in Piedmont. Having a large Austrian army around Milan seems unwise, especially with a dissatisfied population and a most likely disintegrating army (between Italian conscripts calling it a day and French officers and soldiers probably getting a pass to go back to France).

I also doubt that the Papal States could be carved up so easily, but LordKalvan's proposed principalty in the Papal Legazioni is certainly intriguing, although it would not be a strong enough State to balance Piedmont during the Risorgimento.

Even getting Veneto for Eugene, an idea I played with in the past, seems very difficult to justify, although possibly in a no hundred days situation...

But what if Eugene dies (in battle?) relatively early in 1813? IF (a big one) Augusta (or rather Melzi d'Eril and loyal Italian officers like Teodoro Lechi) manages to keep control of the political situation in Milan and of the army, then it could be possible to strike a deal with Austria, ceding Veneto without a fight in exchamge for Lombardy. The situation is a bit better because Napoleon is not yet completely defeated in 1813 and this basically frees up a whole campaign theater for Austria, while creating a sort of "Italian Bavaria" as a client state. Of course renouncing to Lombardy is probably something which would never be accepted, even in exchange for gains elsewhere (or just retaining the Austrian Netherlands maybe?).
 
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