A post in TIL claims that the rumour that Napoleon was short, was british propaganda. I have however heard, that he just looked short, due to the fact that he was always surrounded by his personal guard, which all was exceptionally tall. Can anyone confirm if there is truth to the story I have heard.
Napoleon was above average height. Whether or not his imperial guard was made up giants is impossible to answer, what we do know is that the myth that he was short originated with the affectionate nickname his soldiers gave him, "Le Petit Corporal" (The Little Corporal, diminutives like this are very common in French and it had nothing to do with his actual height) and was spread by English newspapers trying to make him look bad.
hi.. this is a pretty common question; check out this post and follow the links to a few more...
here's one commenting on his guard
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