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Marriages and childrenNapoleon was married twice:Napoleon's first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais9 March 1796 to Joséphine de Beauharnais. He formally adopted her son Eugène and cousin Stéphanie after assuming the throne to arrange "dynastic" marriages for them. He had her daughter Hortense marry his brother, Louis. Though Napoleon and Joséphine's marriage was unconventional, and both were known to have many affairs, they were ultimately devoted to each other and when Joséphine agreed to divorce so he could remarry in the hopes of producing an heir, it was devastating for both. It was also the first under the Napoleonic Code. Napoleon's letters to Joséphine are romantic and interesting. They are available in the original French on the French wikisource site. [3] 11 March 1810 by proxy to Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, then in a ceremony on 1 April. They remained married until his death, although she did not join him in his exile. Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles (20 March 1811 – 22 July 1832), King of Rome. Known as Napoleon II although he never ruled. Was later known as the Duke of Reichstadt. He had no issue. Acknowledged two illegitimate children, both of whom had issue:Charles, Count Léon, (1806 – 1881), by Louise Catherine Eléonore Denuelle de la Plaigne (1787 – 1868). Alexandre Joseph Colonna, Count Walewski, (4 May 1810 – 27 October 1868), by Marie, Countess Walewski (1789 – 1817). May have had further illegitimate offspring:émilie Louise Marie Fran?oise Joséphine Pellapra, by Fran?oise-Marie LeRoy. Karl Eugin von Mühlfeld, by Victoria Kraus. Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte, by Countess Montholon. Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire (19 August 1805 – 24 November 1895) whose mother remains unknown. |
