#empress marie-louise

[napoleonic-confessions]

[empirearchives]

Marie Louise’s reaction to Napoleon’s death

“I am just now in great uncertainty. The Gazette of Piedmont has announced in such a positive manner the death of the Emperor Napoleon, that it is hardly possible to doubt it any longer. I confess I was extremely startled at it, though I have never had any deep feelings of any kind for him. I cannot forget that he is the father of my son and that, far from behaving badly to me, as every one believes, he always showed me every consideration—the only thing one can look for in a political marriage. I was therefore very grieved at it and, though one should be glad that he has ended his unhappy life in a Christian manner, I could still have wished him many more years of happiness and life—provided that it was far away from me. In the uncertainty about it I have settled myself at Sala, not wishing to go to the theater till I know something positive. My health has become so frail that I have felt this shock.”

— Marie Louise’s letter to Countess Victoire (1821)

Source: Compiled by Charles A. Shriner, Wit, Wisdom and Foibles of the Great: Together With Numerous Anecdotes Illustrative of the Characters of People and Their Rulers

Marie Louise, deeply upset at not being informed of the news by her family in Vienna:

“I confess that what gave me most sorrow, in these circumstances, was that I had not had any official news, nor any private, friendly letter from Vienna—the only way by which such could reach me in safety. I confess that I expected more interest and affection on that side, and it gave me a cruel blow by showing me how little one can count on all one’s own people, and this grief can only be cured by time.”

Source: Edith E. Cuthell, An Imperial Victim: Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria, Empress of the French, Duchess of Parma

[napoleondidthat]

My assassination at Schonbrunn would have been less fatal than my marriage to Marie-Louise.

-Napoleon Bonaparte

[tiny-librarian]

Portrait of Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma.

[royalty-nobility]

Portrait of Marie-Louise of Austria, Wife of Napoleon and Empress of France

Artist: Robert Lefèvre (French, 1755–1830)

Date: 1812

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Museo Glauco Lombardi, Emilia Romagna, Italy

Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma

Marie Louise (12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French and Queen of Italy from their marriage on 1 April 1810 until his abdication on 6 April 1814.

[queenalexandraofdenmark]

𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚁𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 👑✨🍫

(𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟸 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝟺)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Queen Sophia of Greece, née Princess Sophia of Prussia.

Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera, née Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh.

Empress Maria Feodorovna, née Princess Dagmar of Denmark.

Queen Marie of Romania, née Princess Marie of Edinburgh.

Queen Victoria, née Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent.

Queen Margherita of Italy, née Princess Margherita of Savoy.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, née Princess Alix of Hesse.

Princess Louise of Schaumburg-Lippe, née Princess Louise of Denmark.

Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, née Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg.

[dreamconsumer]

Portraits of the Empress Marie-Louise (1791-1847) and the King of Rome, Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt (1811-1832) son of the Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821). By Jean-Baptiste Isabey.

[royal-confessions]

“If I could invite any three royals, living or dead, to dinner, I'd invite Joséphine de Beauharnais, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. I'd just say to Franz and Sophie "So, you two dislike Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo. He was a grandson of," here I'd take a dramatic pause and turn to Joséphine, "Marie Louise of Parma. Discuss." And then enjoy the chaos and Alfred-bashing, lol.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[mary-maud]

Empress Marie Louise of the French, Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin

[josefavomjaaga]

hello! do you know what ML's relationship was like with her son? it seems they were distant, but i was wondering if it was more complex than that.

Hi and thanks for the Ask! I'm probably not the best person to answer as I've only read up on Marie Louise in passing. But maybe somebody else will be able to add more to the bit I have to offer.

First of all, I take it that with "her son" you mean little Napoleon Franz, King of Rome-turned Duke of Reichstadt. I understand Marie Louise had two more sons from Adam Neipperg (only one of them reached adulthood though). The answer to your question will depend a lot on who you ask, as there is a long standing tradition especially in France to put all the blame on Marie Louise.

Were Marie Louise and the Duke of Reichstadt close? No, surely not, but from what I have read it was also not that cold and distanced relationship that Marie Louise is often accused of. Mostly, it's an interesting detail that in Paris she seems to have been kept deliberately at a distance: The boy's governess, Madame de Montesquiou, "Maman Quiou", took precedence over the empress in the child's rooms. (I understand that was one cause for the state of constant warfare between Madame de Montesquiou and the Duchess de Montebello Louise Lannes.) When Marie Louise wanted to see her son, she had to ask for permission.

I'm not quite sure what to make of "Maman Quiou", frankly. I have come across some journals by Dietrichstein and other future tutors of the Duke of Reichstadt who do not treat her kindly. But considering the animosity between French and Austrian court, that is to be expected.

In her letters to Napoleon, Marie Louise almost always talks about their son (or, as Napoleon put it "my son"). It seems she also regularly wrote to others about him and claimed to miss him dearly, so she cannot have been utterly indifferent. But she was an empress, and as such she had a job to do and was often away from the baby. Not as often as Napoleon, but quite some time.

But of course it was only after the Vienna Congress that relations with her child became truly estranged. After the Hundred Days, in 1816, Marie Louise left her five-year-old son in Vienna, in order to rule over the Duchy of Parma. She has been - rightfully - blamed for it. But to be fair: she actually took possession of Parma in order to secure it for her son. It was only in 1817 when the powers decided that the Duke of Reichstadt would not inherit and that the throne of Parma would fall to another branch of the Bourbons. Who merited another throne because... because... Anyway.

Besides their correspondence, Marie Louise returned to Vienna to visit her son several times: 1818, 1823, 1826, 1828, 1830 and 1832. That's not much, as maternal affection goes, but I believe little Franz still saw his mother more often than Napoleon Bonaparte had seen his after he had been sent to France? I have not checked, though.

Thank you for the Ask!, and please, if everybody has something to add (and I know there's a couple of folks out there who know much more about the matter than I do) feel free to do so!

[amelie-of-the-sea-and-sky]

My 18 favorite royal wedding tiaras in no specific order, part 1.

[napoleonic-confessions]

[empirearchives]

Mavie Hörbiger as Marie Louise in Napoléon (2002)

[napoleondidthat]

When you have to pick up your horse from valet parking.

[tiny-librarian]

A gilt bronze bust of Marie Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma.

[royalty-nobility]

Marie Louise of Austria Duchess of Parma and Piacenza

Artist: Giovanni Battista Callegari (Italian, 1785-1855)

Date: circa 1835

Collection: Museo Glauco Lombardi, Parma

Marie Louise (12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) Archduchess of Austria, was Empress of the French and Queen of Italy from April 1, 1810 to April 6, 1814 as the second wife of Emperor Napoleon. She was then Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847.