Lucia Elizabeth Balcombe was born in 1802 as the second child of William and Jane Balcombe, née Cranston. Her father was Superintendent of Public Sales for the East India Company. Balcombe and her sister Jane, two years her senior, were educated in England. In 1814, the sisters returned to Saint Helena with their parents and two younger brothers. There they resided in a little cottage called the Briars, which was the residence of Napoléon Bonaparte during the first three months of his exile in Saint Helena. In October 1815 Napoléon Bonaparte was exiled to Saint Helena by the British government. Because Napoleon's residence, Longwood House, had not yet been rehabilitated, he was housed in a pavilion near 'The Briars' for the next two months. Although Balcombe was fearful of Bonaparte the first time they met, over time she and the emperor became friends. The French officers and servants were jealous of the young English girl, who addressed Napoleon as "Boney", without being reprimanded by him. After Napoleon was removed to Longwood House, Balcombe would often visit him. The European press recognised the relationship between the 47-year-old Napoleon and the teenage girl and wrote about a love story. In March 1818, the Balcombes left St. Helena and went back to England. Saint Helena governor Hudson Lowe disapproved of the friendship between the Balcombes and Napoleon, suspecting them of smuggling secret messages out of Longwood House. In May 1821, Betsy Balcombe married Edward Abell and had a daughter but the marriage soon failed. Balcombe earned money by teaching music. In 1824 she made a visit with her family to New South Wales, Australia but returned to England soon after. In 1830 she returned to New South Wales with her brother William and together they took up a land grant adjoining their father's property near Bungonia. Some years later she returned to London and in 1844 published a book Recollections of Emperor Napoleon recounting her experiences on St Helena. After further travels in France and Algeria Betsy Balcombe died in London, on 29 June, 1871, and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
