The Woman Behind the Man

Hi everyone. I was reading information the other day about Napoleon, and then got to reading about his first wife. So, I decided to share a look behind the man at the woman who helped to make him who he was.

Josephine Bonaparte was born Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. I thought I had a long name. Before meeting Napoleon, she went by Rose. It was only after meeting Napoleon that she went by Josephine.

Napoleon was Josephine’s second husband. Her first husband, Alexandre-Francois-Marie Vicomte de Beauhamais, was one of the many who lost his head to le madame guillotine during the Reign of Terror. Josephine was held in prison for 5 days after her husband’s death, with the fall of Robespierre.

Previous of her first marriage, Alexandre had chosen Josephine’s sister Catherine-Desiree, but she died before they could marry. Alexandre’s father wanted the connection to Josephine’s family, so suggested the youngest of the sisters, who was only 11, and her mother refused for the marriage, leaving Alexandre only one choice, Josephine. Later, Josephine’s daughter, Hortense, married Napoleon’s brother Louis Bonaparte.

During her first marriage, her husband deserted their family which led to a court ordered separation which allowed Josephine and the children to live at the expense of Alexandre, while he lived with his mistress.

The reason her marriage to Napoleon was annulled was her inability to give him an heir. She did have 2 children by her first marriage, one was Duke of Leuchtenberg, Eugene de Beauhamais, and Queen of Holland, Hortense de Beauhamais.

Josephine was a leader in collecting all sorts of art during her life. She was also a devoted rose lover.

Joseph-Gaspard, Josephine’s grandfather, was the first to settle in Le Carbet on Martinique. His wife was Rose-Clair des Vergers de Sannois. An interesting fact is that Rose-Claire’s maternal grandfather was possibly Irish (Anthony Brown) and another family line was part of one of the oldest European families on the island, owning a sugar plantation. There is a museum there now.

 Though there was controversy over where Josephine was born, she was the eldest of 3 daughters to her parents.

Today, we would consider Josephine to be a cougar and a very loose woman, as she had affairs with several important political figures. She was 6 years older than Napoleon. Originally, Josephine was Napoleon’s mistress. Napoleon wrote love letters to Josephine, even after their marriage was annulled. After the annulment, Josephine returned to being his mistress while he married his second wife.

On the marriage certificate, Josephine put down her age as being 4 years younger than she really was, while Napoleon’s age was increased by 18 months, thereby making them both near the same age.

Napoleon’s family did not approve of his marrying Josephine, with her being older and a widow with 2 children. His mother and sisters resented the marriage.

Though Napoleon sent many love letters, Josephine rarely returned letters. Many believed Napoleon’s love for Josephine was far greater than hers was for him.

While Napoleon was on the battlefield, Josephine had affairs. The affair she had with Hippolyte Charles, a Hussar lieutenant, made Napoleon furious and changed how he loved her. In retaliation, Napoleon had an affair with the wife of a junior officer, Pauline Foures.

In 1800, in a plot to murder Napoleon, Josephine was nearly killed by a bomb. They had gone to see an opera with friends. The group used 2 carriages Josephine was in the second carriage, which was delayed due to Josephine adjusting her shawl. The bomb was in a parked cart, and when it exploded, bystanders and one of the carriage horses was killed. Josephine’s daughter, Hortense, who was in the carriage along with Napoleon’s sister, was struck by flying glass from the window which was shattered by the bomb.

Did you know that the coronation of Napoleon to Emperor and Josephine to Empress almost did not happen? Just days before, Josephine found Napoleon in the bed of her lady in waiting, leading to Napoleon threatening to divorce due to no heir having been produced.

Napoleon’s heir up to that time was his nephew, Napoleon Charles Bonaparte, which was Josephine’s grandson. Unfortunately, the boy died, which led to Napoleon’s decision to annul the marriage and marry someone else for the much required heir.

The weird part is, they had a divorce ceremony where each read statements of devotion to each other. Napoleon insisted she keep the rank and title of empress. Napoleon declared that she never doubted his sentiments and that she held him as her best and dearest friend.  After the annulment, Napoleon created letters patent making Josephine Duchess of Navarre. When Napoleon went into exile, Josephine begged to go with him, but she was denied by the government.

After her death from pneumonia, Napoleon went into his room for 2 days, refusing to see or speak with anyone. He stated that he was in love with her, he just could not respect her.

It appears that she had a lot of jewelry, as it has been said that many modern day royals have worn her jewels in other countries.  

Well, I found it interesting to hear about the woman behind the man. It was quite a wild relationship. Hope you enjoyed learning about Josephine.