Napoleon marries Joséphine

Napoleon marries Joséphine

Joséphine de Beauharnais was described as being of average height, svelte, shapely, with silky, long, chestnut-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a rather sallow complexion.

Her nose was small and straight, and her mouth was well-formed; however she kept it closed most of the time so as not to reveal her bad teeth.

She was praised for her elegance, style, and low, “silvery”, beautifully modulated voice
She had a number of affairs, with several leading political figures.
Then one day, her friend introduced her to a promising young general, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon fell head over heels in love with her, and in a letter to her, he wrote,
“I awake full of you.
Your image and the memory of last night’s intoxicating pleasures has left no rest to my senses.”

She, on the other hand, did not seem to be so keen, as she was six years older than him, and was already the mother of two children.
Joséphine eventually accepted his proposal of marriage, and they were wed in a civil ceremony on 9th March 1796.

Napoleon had a strong s3xual attraction to Joséphine, and preferred that she not bathe.
According to urban legend, Napoleon wrote an infamous, albeit brief, letter to Joséphine that said~
“I am coming home. Don’t wash.”

There may have been an ulterior motive in Napoleon request, however.
Napoleon was doing his part to encourage Joséphine’s fidelity and virtue.

Joséphine had a reputation for being a shameless seductress. Maybe Napoleon believed a powerful body odour would ward off any stray suitors in his absence.
If he arrived to find Joséphine washed, it could have raised his suspicion that she’d been entertaining someone else…..

When after a few years, it became clear Joséphine could not have a child, Napoleon, while still loving Joséphine, began to think about the possibility of an annulment.

Over dinner on 30th November 1809, he let Joséphine know that he must find a wife who could produce an heir.
Joséphine agreed to the divorce.

The divorce ceremony took place on 10th January 1810, and each read a statement of devotion to the other.

Even after their separation, Napoleon insisted Joséphine retain the title of empress.
She remained on good terms with Napoleon, and lived at the Château de Malmaison, near Paris.

Napoleon married Marie~Louise of Austria, on the 11th March 1810.
Napoleon once said of Louise~
“It is a womb that I am marrying”

Joséphine died of pneumonia on 29th May 1814.
She had been walking with Emperor Alexander I of Russia in her gardens, where she allegedly said she was going to join Napoleon in exile.
Shortly after, she was taken ill.
Joséphine was buried in the nearby church of Saint Pierre-Saint Paul in Rueil.

Napoleon learned of her death while in exile on Elba and stayed locked in his room for two days, refusing to see anyone.
Napoleon claimed to a friend~
“I truly loved my Joséphine, but I did not respect her.”

Despite her numerous affairs, eventual marriage annulment, and his remarriage, the Emperor’s last words on his death bed were~

“France, l’armée, tête d’armée, Joséphine”
“France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Joséphine.

Napoleon and Josephine painted by Harold Hume Piffard (1867 – 1938). Private collection