If you're wondering, it's due to the fact that France also used body parts as measurement at the time, but a French inch was bigger than a British one. So when British people heard he was 5 ft 2 they thought he was short, not knowing that this amounted to 5 ft 6 in their measurement. And the myth stuck even after it became clearer for everyone that he was about 168cm.
It also didn't help that the soldiers of his imperial guard were required to be tall -so, contrast effect-, and since he'd accessed a position of power at 16 he was nicknamed "little caporal", which was a term of "endearment" and had nothing to do with his size.
It also didn't help that the soldiers of his imperial guard were required to be tall -so, contrast effect-, and since he'd accessed a position of power at 16 he was nicknamed "little caporal", which was a term of "endearment" and had nothing to do with his size.