Josephine. Joséphine was the first wife of Napoleon and the first Empress of the French after he proclaimed himself Emperor.
Her marriage to Napoleon was her second; her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she was imprisoned in the Carmes Prison until five days after his execution. Her two children by Beauharnais became significant to royal lineage.
Through her daughter Hortense, she was the maternal grandmother of Napoleon III. Through her son Eugène, she was the great-grandmother of Swedish and Danish kings and queens.
The reigning houses of Belgium, Norway and Luxembourg also descend from her. Because she did not bear Napoleon any children, he divorced her in 1810 to marry Marie Louise of Austria.
Joséphine was the recipient of numerous love letters written by Napoleon, many of which still exist. Her Château de Malmaison was noted for its magnificent rose garden, which she supervised closely, owing to her passionate interest in roses, collected from all over the world. Although she is often referred to as Joséphine de Beauharnais, it is not a name she ever used in her lifetime, as Beauharnais is the name of her first husband, which she ceased to use upon her marriage to Napoleon, taking the last name Bonaparte while she did not use the name Joséphine before meeting Napoleon, who was the first to begin calling her such, perhaps from a
Her marriage to Napoleon was her second; her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she was imprisoned in the Carmes Prison until five days after his execution. Her two children by Beauharnais became significant to royal lineage.
Through her daughter Hortense, she was the maternal grandmother of Napoleon III. Through her son Eugène, she was the great-grandmother of Swedish and Danish kings and queens.
The reigning houses of Belgium, Norway and Luxembourg also descend from her. Because she did not bear Napoleon any children, he divorced her in 1810 to marry Marie Louise of Austria.
Joséphine was the recipient of numerous love letters written by Napoleon, many of which still exist. Her Château de Malmaison was noted for its magnificent rose garden, which she supervised closely, owing to her passionate interest in roses, collected from all over the world. Although she is often referred to as Joséphine de Beauharnais, it is not a name she ever used in her lifetime, as Beauharnais is the name of her first husband, which she ceased to use upon her marriage to Napoleon, taking the last name Bonaparte while she did not use the name Joséphine before meeting Napoleon, who was the first to begin calling her such, perhaps from a
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