Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Encyclopedia
Marie Louise of Austria (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha Lucia von Habsburg-Lothringen; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma. As such, she was Empress of the French from 1811 to 1814, and subsequently ruler of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
from 1814 until her death.
As the eldest child of Habsburg
Emperor Francis I of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Marie Louise grew up during a period of continuous conflict between Austria
and revolutionary France. A series of military defeats at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had inflicted a heavy human toll on Austria and led Francis to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire
. The end of the War of the Fifth Coalition
resulted in the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise in 1811, which ushered in a brief period of peace and friendship between Austria and the French Empire
. Marie Louise dutifully agreed to the marriage despite being raised to despise France. She was an obedient wife and was adored by Napoleon, who had been eager to marry a member of one of Europe's leading royal houses to cement his relatively young Empire. She bore Napoleon a son, styled the King of Rome at birth, later Duke of Reichstadt, who briefly succeeded him as Napoleon II.
Napoleon's fortunes began to change dramatically in 1812 after his failed invasion of Russia
. The European powers, including Austria, resumed hostilities towards France in the War of the Sixth Coalition
, which ended with the abdication of Napoleon and his exile to Elba. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau
handed over the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla to Empress Marie Louise. She ruled the duchies until her death.
Marie Louise married morganatically
twice after Napoleon's death in 1821. Her second husband was Count Adam Albert von Neipperg
(married 1821), an equerry she met in 1814. She and Neipperg had three children. After Neipperg's death, she married Count Charles René de Bombelles, her chamberlain, in 1834. Marie Louise died in Parma in 1847.
on 12 December 1791 to Archduke Francis of Austria
and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor a year later as Francis II. Marie Louise was a great granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa through her father, and thus a great niece of Marie Antoinette
. She was also a maternal granddaughter of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples
, Marie Antoinette's favourite sister.
Marie Louise's formative years was during a period of conflict between France and her family. She was brought up to detest France and French ideas. Marie Louise was influenced by her grandmother Maria Carolina, who despised the French Revolution
which ultimately caused the death of her sister, Marie Antoinette. Maria Carolina's Kingdom of Naples had also come into direct conflict with French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The War of the Third Coalition brought Austria to the brink of ruin, which increased Marie Louise's resentment towards Napoleon. The Imperial family was forced to flee Vienna in 1805. Marie Louise took refuge in Hungary
and later Galicia before returning to Vienna in 1806. Her father relinquished the title of Holy Roman Emperor but remained Emperor of Austria.
To make her more marriageable, her parents had her tutored in many languages. In addition to her native German
, she became fluent in English
, French
, Italian
, Latin, and Spanish
.
In 1807, when Marie Louise was 15, her mother died after suffering a miscarriage. Less than a year later, Emperor Francis married his cousin Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este
, who was four years older than Marie Louise. Nonetheless, Maria Ludovika Beatrix took on a maternal role towards her stepdaughter. She was also bitter towards the French, who had deprived her father of the Duchy of Modena.
Another war
broke out between France and Austria in 1809, which resulted in defeat for the Austrians again. The Imperial family had to flee Vienna again before the city surrendered on May 12. Their journey was hampered by bad weather, and they arrived in Buda
"wet through, and nearly worn out with fatigue."
on 12 October 1809, Emperor Napoleon decided that he needed an heir to cement his relatively young Empire. He also sought the validation and legitimation of his Empire by marrying a member of one of the leading royal families of Europe. He began proceedings to divorce Joséphine de Beauharnais
, who could not bear him a son, and began searching for a new empress. His wish to marry Tsar Alexander I of Russia's sister, Grand Duchess Anna
, caused alarm in Austria, who were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other. At the persuasion of Count Metternich, a marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise was suggested by Emperor Francis to the Count of Narbonne
but no official overture was made by the Austrians. Though officials in Paris and Austria were beginning to accept the possibility of the union, Marie Louise was kept uninformed of developments.
Frustrated by the Russians delaying the marriage negotiations, Napoleon rescinded his proposal in late January 1810 and began negotiations to marry Marie Louise with the Austrian ambassador, the Prince of Schwarzenberg
. Schwarzenberg signed the marriage contract on 7 February. Marie Louise was informed of the marriage by Metternich. When asked for consent, she replied: "I wish only what my duty commands me to wish."
Marie Louise was married by proxy to Napoleon on 11 March 1810 at the Augustinian Church, Vienna. Napoleon was represented by Archduke Charles
, the bride's uncle. According to the French ambassador, the marriage "was celebrated with a magnificence that it would be hard to surpass, by the side of which even the brilliant festivities that have preceded it are not to be mentioned." She became Empress of the French and Queen of Italy.
Marie Louise departed Vienna on March 13, probably expecting never to return. She met Napoleon for the first time on March 27 in Compiègne
, remarking to him: "You are much better-looking than your portrait."
The civil wedding was held at the Château de Saint-Cloud
on 1 April 1810. The next day, Napoleon and Marie Louise made the journey to Paris
in the coronation coach. The Imperial Guard
cavalry led the procession, followed by the herald-at-arms and then the carriages. The Marshals of France
rode on each side, near the doors of the carriages. The procession arrived at the Tuileries Palace
, and the Imperial couple made their way to the Salon Carré chapel (in the Louvre) for the religious wedding ceremony. The ceremony was conducted by the Cardinal Grand Almoner of France
.
. Napoleon "spared no pains" to please her and claimed at one point to prefer Marie Louise to his first wife Joséphine; while he had loved Joséphine, he claimed, he had not respected her, whereas with Marie Louise, there was "Never a lie, never a debt" — presumably a reference to Joséphine's rumoured extramarital affairs
and reputation as a spendthrift. Marie Louise wrote to her father: "I assure you, dear papa, that people have done great injustice to the Emperor. The better one knows him, the better one appreciates and loves him."
The excitement surrounding the wedding ushered in a period of peace and friendship between France and Austria, who had been largely at war for the last two decades. The people of Vienna, who hated Napoleon only months before, were suddenly in full praise of the French Emperor. Flattering letters were sent between Napoleon and Emperor Francis, Empress Maria Ludovika Beatrix and Archduke Charles during the wedding festivities.
During public occasions, Marie Louise spoke little due to reserve and timidity, which some observers mistook for haughtiness. She was regarded as a virtuous woman and never interfered in politics. Privately, she was polite and gentle.
. Napoleon was delighted that his wife survived the ordeal and said: "I had rather never have any more children than see her suffer so much again."
Marie Louise was devoted to her son; she had him brought to her every morning and visited him in his apartment in the course of the day.
, Marie Louise accompanied Napoleon to Dresden, where she met her father and stepmother. Emperor Francis told Napoleon he could count on Austria for the "triumph of the common cause," a reference to the impending war. A minor rivalry began to develop between Marie Louise and the Empress of Austria, who was jealous at being upstaged in appearance by her stepdaughter. It was also in Dresden where she met Count Adam Albert von Neipperg
for the first time. Napoleon left Dresden on May 29 to take charge of his army.
Marie Louise then travelled to Prague
, where she spent a few weeks with the Austrian Imperial family, before returning to Saint Cloud on July 18. She kept in touch with Napoleon throughout the war. The invasion of Russia ended disastrously for France. More than half of the Grand Armée was destroyed by the Russian Winter
and guerilla attacks. After the failed Malet coup of October 1812
, Napoleon hastened his return to France and reunited with his wife on the night of December 18.
and the United Kingdom
joined Russia in declaring war on France, but Austria stayed out due to relations between the Imperial families. On March 30, Marie Louise was appointed Regent as Napoleon set off for battle in Germany. The regency was only de jure, as all decisions were still taken by Napoleon and implemented by his most senior officials, including Lebrun
, Joseph Bonaparte
, Talleyrand and Savary
. Marie Louise tried unsuccessfully to get her father to ally with France. Austria too joined the opposition to France. She maintained a correspondence with Napoleon, informing him of increasing demands for peace in Paris and the provinces. Napoleon was decisively defeated in Leipzig
on October 19 and returned to Saint Cloud on November 9.
On 23 January 1814, Marie Louise was appointed Regent for the second time. On January 25, at 03:00 in the morning, Napoleon embraced Marie Louise and his son for the last time. He left to lead a hastily formed army to stave off the Allied invasion from the north.
As the Allies neared Paris, Marie Louise was reluctant to leave. She felt that as the daughter of the sovereign of Austria, one of the allied members, she would be treated with respect by Allied forces, with the possibility of her son succeeding the throne should Napoleon be deposed. She was also afraid that her departure would strengthen the royalist supporters of the Bourbons. Marie Louise was finally persuaded to leave by Henri Clarke
, who received the order from Napoleon: "I would prefer to know that they [the Empress and the King of Rome] are both at the bottom of the Seine rather than in the hands of the foreigners." On March 29, the court left Paris. The Allies entered the city the following day.
Marie Louise and the court moved to Blois
, which was safe from the Allies. She did not expect her father to dethrone Napoleon and deprive her son of the crown of France. On April 3, the Senate, at the instigation of Talleyrand, announced the deposition of the Emperor. Marie Louise was unaware of this until April 7, and was astonished to discover the turn of events. She wanted to return to Paris, but was dissuaded from doing so by physician Jean-Nicolas Corvisart
and the Duchess of Montebello.
. The Treaty of Fontainebleau
exiled him to Elba
, allowed Marie Louise to retain her imperial rank and style and made her ruler of the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla
, with her son as heir. This arrangement was later revised at the Congress of Vienna
.
Marie Louise was strongly dissuaded by her advisors from rejoining her husband. On April 16, her father arrived at Blois to meet her. At the advice of Emperor Francis, Marie Louise departed Rambouillet with her son for Vienna on April 23. At Vienna, she stayed at Schönbrunn
, where she received frequent visits from her sisters, but rarely from her father and stepmother. She met her grandmother, Maria Carolina
, who disapproved of her deserting her husband. Distressed at being seen as a heartless wife and indifferent mother, she wrote on 9 August 1814: "I am in a very unhappy and critical position; I must be very prudent in my conduct. There are moments when that thought so distracts me that I think that the best thing I could do would be to die."
to accompany Marie Louise to the spa town of Aix-les-Bains
to prevent her from joining Napoleon on Elba. Neipperg was a confidant of Metternich and an enemy of Napoleon. Marie Louise fell in love with Neipperg. He became her chamberlain and her advocate at the Congress of Vienna
. News of the relationship was not received well by the French and the Austrian public.
When Napoleon escaped in March 1815 and reinstated his rule
, the Allies once again declared war. Marie Louise was asked by her stepmother to join in the processions to pray for the success of the Austrian armies but rejected the insulting invitation. She passed a message to Napoleon's private secretary, Claude François de Méneval, who was about to return to France: "I hope he will understand the misery of my position ... I shall never assent to a divorce, but I flatter myself that he will not oppose an amicable separation, and that he will not bear any ill feeling towards me ... This separation has become imperative; it will in no way affect the feelings of esteem and gratitude that I preserve." Napoleon was defeated for the last time at the Battle of Waterloo
and was exiled to Saint Helena
from October 1815.
The Congress of Vienna recognised Marie Louise as ruler of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla
, but prevented her from bringing her son to Italy. It also made her Duchess of Parma for her life only, as the Allies did not want a descendant of Napoleon to have a hereditary claim over Parma.
She and Neipperg had three children:
Napoleon died on 5 May 1821. On August 8, Marie Louise married Neipperg morganatically
. Neipperg died of heart problems on 22 February 1829, devastating Marie Louise. She was banned by Austria from mourning in public.
Her first son, then known as "Franz," was given the title Duke of Reichstadt in 1818. Franz lived at the Austrian court, where he was shown great affection by his grandfather. He died at the age of 21 in Vienna in 1832 after suffering from tuberculosis.
1831 saw the outbreak of the Carbonari
-led uprisings in Italy. In Parma, protestors gathered in the streets to denounce the Austrian-appointed prime minister Josef von Werklein. Marie Louise did not know what to do and wanted to leave the city, but was prevented from doing so by the protestors, who saw her as someone who would listen to their demands. She managed to leave Parma between 14 and 15 February, and a provisional government led by Count Filippo Luigi Linati was formed. At Piacenza
, she wrote to her father asking him to replace Werklein. Francis sent in Austrian troops which crushed the rebellion. To avoid further turmoil, Marie Louise granted amnesty to the dissidents on September 29.
Metternich sent Charles-René de Bombelles to Marie Louise's household in 1833. Six months after his arrival, on 17 February 1834, she married him, again morganatically.
.
Her body was transferred back to Vienna and buried at the Imperial Crypt.
Marie Louise also held, by marriage, the title Countess of Neipperg (1821–1834) and later Countess of Bombelles (1834–1847). She retained her imperial rank due to the 1814 Treaty of Paris as well as her titles Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.
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Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
from 1814 until her death.
As the eldest child of Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Emperor Francis I of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Marie Louise grew up during a period of continuous conflict between Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and revolutionary France. A series of military defeats at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte had inflicted a heavy human toll on Austria and led Francis to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. The end of the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
resulted in the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise in 1811, which ushered in a brief period of peace and friendship between Austria and the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. Marie Louise dutifully agreed to the marriage despite being raised to despise France. She was an obedient wife and was adored by Napoleon, who had been eager to marry a member of one of Europe's leading royal houses to cement his relatively young Empire. She bore Napoleon a son, styled the King of Rome at birth, later Duke of Reichstadt, who briefly succeeded him as Napoleon II.
Napoleon's fortunes began to change dramatically in 1812 after his failed invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
. The European powers, including Austria, resumed hostilities towards France in the War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
, which ended with the abdication of Napoleon and his exile to Elba. The 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau
Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement established in Fontainebleau on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon Bonaparte and representatives from Austria, Hungary and Bohemia , as well as Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed at Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides, and...
handed over the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla to Empress Marie Louise. She ruled the duchies until her death.
Marie Louise married morganatically
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
twice after Napoleon's death in 1821. Her second husband was Count Adam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg was an Austrian general and statesman. The son of a diplomat, famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and a French mother, he was the grandson of Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg....
(married 1821), an equerry she met in 1814. She and Neipperg had three children. After Neipperg's death, she married Count Charles René de Bombelles, her chamberlain, in 1834. Marie Louise died in Parma in 1847.
Early life
Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria (who was given the Latin baptismal name of Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Francisca Theresa Josepha Lucia) was born at the Hofburg Palace in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 12 December 1791 to Archduke Francis of Austria
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
and his second wife, Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Her father became Holy Roman Emperor a year later as Francis II. Marie Louise was a great granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa through her father, and thus a great niece of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
. She was also a maternal granddaughter of Queen Maria Carolina of Naples
Maria Carolina of Austria
Maria Carolina of Austria was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand IV & III. As de facto ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry, the enlargement of the navy under her...
, Marie Antoinette's favourite sister.
Marie Louise's formative years was during a period of conflict between France and her family. She was brought up to detest France and French ideas. Marie Louise was influenced by her grandmother Maria Carolina, who despised the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
which ultimately caused the death of her sister, Marie Antoinette. Maria Carolina's Kingdom of Naples had also come into direct conflict with French forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte. The War of the Third Coalition brought Austria to the brink of ruin, which increased Marie Louise's resentment towards Napoleon. The Imperial family was forced to flee Vienna in 1805. Marie Louise took refuge in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and later Galicia before returning to Vienna in 1806. Her father relinquished the title of Holy Roman Emperor but remained Emperor of Austria.
To make her more marriageable, her parents had her tutored in many languages. In addition to her native German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, she became fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Latin, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
In 1807, when Marie Louise was 15, her mother died after suffering a miscarriage. Less than a year later, Emperor Francis married his cousin Maria Ludovika Beatrix of Austria-Este
Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este
Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, also known as Maria Ludovika of Modena, was daughter of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and his wife, Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este...
, who was four years older than Marie Louise. Nonetheless, Maria Ludovika Beatrix took on a maternal role towards her stepdaughter. She was also bitter towards the French, who had deprived her father of the Duchy of Modena.
Another war
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
broke out between France and Austria in 1809, which resulted in defeat for the Austrians again. The Imperial family had to flee Vienna again before the city surrendered on May 12. Their journey was hampered by bad weather, and they arrived in Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
"wet through, and nearly worn out with fatigue."
Marriage proposal
After escaping an assassination attempt in Vienna while negotiating the Treaty of SchönbrunnTreaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn , sometimes known as the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at the Schönbrunn Palace of Vienna on 14 October 1809. This treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars...
on 12 October 1809, Emperor Napoleon decided that he needed an heir to cement his relatively young Empire. He also sought the validation and legitimation of his Empire by marrying a member of one of the leading royal families of Europe. He began proceedings to divorce Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
, who could not bear him a son, and began searching for a new empress. His wish to marry Tsar Alexander I of Russia's sister, Grand Duchess Anna
Anna Pavlovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia was a queen consort of the Netherlands.-Background:She was born as the eighth child and sixth daughter of Paul I of Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna , and thus was Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia...
, caused alarm in Austria, who were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other. At the persuasion of Count Metternich, a marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise was suggested by Emperor Francis to the Count of Narbonne
Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara
Louis Marie Jacques Amalric, comte de Narbonne-Lara was a French nobleman, soldier and diplomat.-Birth and early life:He was born at Colorno, in the Duchy of Parma, as the son of Françoise de Châlus Louis Marie Jacques Amalric, comte de Narbonne-Lara (17, 23 or 24 August 1755 – 17 November...
but no official overture was made by the Austrians. Though officials in Paris and Austria were beginning to accept the possibility of the union, Marie Louise was kept uninformed of developments.
Frustrated by the Russians delaying the marriage negotiations, Napoleon rescinded his proposal in late January 1810 and began negotiations to marry Marie Louise with the Austrian ambassador, the Prince of Schwarzenberg
Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg
Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Charles Philip, Prince of Schwarzenberg (April 18, 1771 – October 15, 1820) was an Austrian field marshal.- Life :...
. Schwarzenberg signed the marriage contract on 7 February. Marie Louise was informed of the marriage by Metternich. When asked for consent, she replied: "I wish only what my duty commands me to wish."
Wedding
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
, the bride's uncle. According to the French ambassador, the marriage "was celebrated with a magnificence that it would be hard to surpass, by the side of which even the brilliant festivities that have preceded it are not to be mentioned." She became Empress of the French and Queen of Italy.
Marie Louise departed Vienna on March 13, probably expecting never to return. She met Napoleon for the first time on March 27 in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
, remarking to him: "You are much better-looking than your portrait."
The civil wedding was held at the Château de Saint-Cloud
Château de Saint-Cloud
The Château de Saint-Cloud was a Palace in France, built on a magnificent site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about 10 kilometres west of Paris. Today it is a large park on the outskirts of the capital and is owned by the state, but the area as a whole has had a large...
on 1 April 1810. The next day, Napoleon and Marie Louise made the journey to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the coronation coach. The Imperial Guard
Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
cavalry led the procession, followed by the herald-at-arms and then the carriages. The Marshals of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
rode on each side, near the doors of the carriages. The procession arrived at the Tuileries Palace
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
, and the Imperial couple made their way to the Salon Carré chapel (in the Louvre) for the religious wedding ceremony. The ceremony was conducted by the Cardinal Grand Almoner of France
Grand Almoner of France
The Grand Almoner of France was an officer of the French monarchy and a member of the Maison du Roi during the Ancien Régime...
.
Life as Empress
Marie Louise was an obedient wife and settled in quickly in the French court. She developed a close friendship with her maid-of-honour, the Duchess of MontebelloLouise Antoinette Lannes, Duchess of Montebello
Louise Antoinette Lannes, Duchess of Montebello was the daughter of senator and financier François Scholastique, Count of Guéhéneuc. She was the sister of general Charles Louis Joseph Olivier, Count of Guéhéneuc.On September 16, 1800, age 18 at Dornes she married general Jean Lannes , being his...
. Napoleon "spared no pains" to please her and claimed at one point to prefer Marie Louise to his first wife Joséphine; while he had loved Joséphine, he claimed, he had not respected her, whereas with Marie Louise, there was "Never a lie, never a debt" — presumably a reference to Joséphine's rumoured extramarital affairs
Extramarital sex
Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than his or her marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandery, or infidelity...
and reputation as a spendthrift. Marie Louise wrote to her father: "I assure you, dear papa, that people have done great injustice to the Emperor. The better one knows him, the better one appreciates and loves him."
The excitement surrounding the wedding ushered in a period of peace and friendship between France and Austria, who had been largely at war for the last two decades. The people of Vienna, who hated Napoleon only months before, were suddenly in full praise of the French Emperor. Flattering letters were sent between Napoleon and Emperor Francis, Empress Maria Ludovika Beatrix and Archduke Charles during the wedding festivities.
During public occasions, Marie Louise spoke little due to reserve and timidity, which some observers mistook for haughtiness. She was regarded as a virtuous woman and never interfered in politics. Privately, she was polite and gentle.
Birth of first child
Marie Louise became pregnant by July 1810 and gave birth to a son on 20 March 1811. The boy, Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, was given the title King of Rome, in accordance with the practice where the heir apparent to the Holy Roman Empire was called the King of the RomansKing of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
. Napoleon was delighted that his wife survived the ordeal and said: "I had rather never have any more children than see her suffer so much again."
Marie Louise was devoted to her son; she had him brought to her every morning and visited him in his apartment in the course of the day.
Resumption of war
In May 1812, a month before the French invasion of RussiaFrench invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
, Marie Louise accompanied Napoleon to Dresden, where she met her father and stepmother. Emperor Francis told Napoleon he could count on Austria for the "triumph of the common cause," a reference to the impending war. A minor rivalry began to develop between Marie Louise and the Empress of Austria, who was jealous at being upstaged in appearance by her stepdaughter. It was also in Dresden where she met Count Adam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg was an Austrian general and statesman. The son of a diplomat, famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and a French mother, he was the grandson of Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg....
for the first time. Napoleon left Dresden on May 29 to take charge of his army.
Marie Louise then travelled to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where she spent a few weeks with the Austrian Imperial family, before returning to Saint Cloud on July 18. She kept in touch with Napoleon throughout the war. The invasion of Russia ended disastrously for France. More than half of the Grand Armée was destroyed by the Russian Winter
Russian Winter
The Russian Winter is a common explanation for military failures of invaders in Russia. Common nicknames are General Frost, General Winter and General Snow. Another was "General Mud"....
and guerilla attacks. After the failed Malet coup of October 1812
Malet coup of 1812
The Malet coup of 1812 was an attempted coup d'etat in Paris, France, aimed at removing Napoleon I, then campaigning in Russia, from power. The coup was engineered by Republican general Claude François de Malet, who had spent time in prison because of his opposition to Napoleon...
, Napoleon hastened his return to France and reunited with his wife on the night of December 18.
Collapse of the Empire
The weakened French position triggered the Sixth Coalition. PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
joined Russia in declaring war on France, but Austria stayed out due to relations between the Imperial families. On March 30, Marie Louise was appointed Regent as Napoleon set off for battle in Germany. The regency was only de jure, as all decisions were still taken by Napoleon and implemented by his most senior officials, including Lebrun
Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance
Charles-François Lebrun, 1st Duke of Plaisance, prince of the Empire was a French statesman.-Ancien Régime:...
, Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
, Talleyrand and Savary
Anne Jean Marie René Savary
Anne Jean Marie René Savary, 1st Duc de Rovigo , French general and diplomat, was born at Marcq in the Ardennes.-Biography:...
. Marie Louise tried unsuccessfully to get her father to ally with France. Austria too joined the opposition to France. She maintained a correspondence with Napoleon, informing him of increasing demands for peace in Paris and the provinces. Napoleon was decisively defeated in Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
on October 19 and returned to Saint Cloud on November 9.
On 23 January 1814, Marie Louise was appointed Regent for the second time. On January 25, at 03:00 in the morning, Napoleon embraced Marie Louise and his son for the last time. He left to lead a hastily formed army to stave off the Allied invasion from the north.
As the Allies neared Paris, Marie Louise was reluctant to leave. She felt that as the daughter of the sovereign of Austria, one of the allied members, she would be treated with respect by Allied forces, with the possibility of her son succeeding the throne should Napoleon be deposed. She was also afraid that her departure would strengthen the royalist supporters of the Bourbons. Marie Louise was finally persuaded to leave by Henri Clarke
Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke
Henri-Jacques-Guillaume Clarke, 1st Count of Hunebourg, 1st Duke of Feltre , born in Landrecies, was a Marshal of France and French politician of Irish descent.Clarke entered the French army in 1782...
, who received the order from Napoleon: "I would prefer to know that they [the Empress and the King of Rome] are both at the bottom of the Seine rather than in the hands of the foreigners." On March 29, the court left Paris. The Allies entered the city the following day.
Marie Louise and the court moved to Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
, which was safe from the Allies. She did not expect her father to dethrone Napoleon and deprive her son of the crown of France. On April 3, the Senate, at the instigation of Talleyrand, announced the deposition of the Emperor. Marie Louise was unaware of this until April 7, and was astonished to discover the turn of events. She wanted to return to Paris, but was dissuaded from doing so by physician Jean-Nicolas Corvisart
Jean-Nicolas Corvisart
Jean-Nicolas Corvisart was an important figure in the history of French medicine. Born in the French village of Dricourt, Ardennes in 1755, Corvisart gained early notoriety for his translation of Leopold von Auenbrugg's Inventum Novum from Latin into French...
and the Duchess of Montebello.
Exile of Napoleon
Napoleon abdicated the throne on 11 April 1814 in FontainebleauFontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
. The Treaty of Fontainebleau
Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement established in Fontainebleau on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon Bonaparte and representatives from Austria, Hungary and Bohemia , as well as Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed at Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides, and...
exiled him to Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
, allowed Marie Louise to retain her imperial rank and style and made her ruler of the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
, with her son as heir. This arrangement was later revised at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
.
Marie Louise was strongly dissuaded by her advisors from rejoining her husband. On April 16, her father arrived at Blois to meet her. At the advice of Emperor Francis, Marie Louise departed Rambouillet with her son for Vienna on April 23. At Vienna, she stayed at Schönbrunn
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
, where she received frequent visits from her sisters, but rarely from her father and stepmother. She met her grandmother, Maria Carolina
Maria Carolina of Austria
Maria Carolina of Austria was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand IV & III. As de facto ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry, the enlargement of the navy under her...
, who disapproved of her deserting her husband. Distressed at being seen as a heartless wife and indifferent mother, she wrote on 9 August 1814: "I am in a very unhappy and critical position; I must be very prudent in my conduct. There are moments when that thought so distracts me that I think that the best thing I could do would be to die."
Congress of Vienna and relationship with Neipperg
In the summer of 1814, Emperor Francis sent Count Adam Albert von NeippergAdam Albert von Neipperg
Adam Albert, Count von Neipperg was an Austrian general and statesman. The son of a diplomat, famous for inventing a letter-copying machine, and a French mother, he was the grandson of Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg....
to accompany Marie Louise to the spa town of Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...
to prevent her from joining Napoleon on Elba. Neipperg was a confidant of Metternich and an enemy of Napoleon. Marie Louise fell in love with Neipperg. He became her chamberlain and her advocate at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
. News of the relationship was not received well by the French and the Austrian public.
When Napoleon escaped in March 1815 and reinstated his rule
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, the Allies once again declared war. Marie Louise was asked by her stepmother to join in the processions to pray for the success of the Austrian armies but rejected the insulting invitation. She passed a message to Napoleon's private secretary, Claude François de Méneval, who was about to return to France: "I hope he will understand the misery of my position ... I shall never assent to a divorce, but I flatter myself that he will not oppose an amicable separation, and that he will not bear any ill feeling towards me ... This separation has become imperative; it will in no way affect the feelings of esteem and gratitude that I preserve." Napoleon was defeated for the last time at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and was exiled to Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
from October 1815.
The Congress of Vienna recognised Marie Louise as ruler of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla
Duchy of Parma
The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....
, but prevented her from bringing her son to Italy. It also made her Duchess of Parma for her life only, as the Allies did not want a descendant of Napoleon to have a hereditary claim over Parma.
Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise departed for Parma on 7 March 1816, accompanied by Neipperg. She entered the duchy on April 18. She wrote to her father: "People welcomed me with such enthusiasm that I had tears in my eyes." She largely left the running of day-to-day affairs to Neipperg, who received instructions from Metternich. In December 1816, Marie Louise removed the incumbent prime minister and installed Neipperg.She and Neipperg had three children:
- Albertine, Countess of Montenuovo (1817–1867), married Luigi Sanvitale, Count of Fontanellato
- William AlbertWilliam Albert, 1st Prince of MontenuovoWilliam Albert, 1st Prince of Montenuovo was an Italian prince and Field Marshal Lieutenant of the Austrian Empire.-Early life:...
, Count of Montenuovo, later created Prince of Montenuovo (1819–1895), married Countess Juliana Batthyány von Németújvár) - Mathilde, Countess of Montenuovo (born 1822)
Napoleon died on 5 May 1821. On August 8, Marie Louise married Neipperg morganatically
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
. Neipperg died of heart problems on 22 February 1829, devastating Marie Louise. She was banned by Austria from mourning in public.
Her first son, then known as "Franz," was given the title Duke of Reichstadt in 1818. Franz lived at the Austrian court, where he was shown great affection by his grandfather. He died at the age of 21 in Vienna in 1832 after suffering from tuberculosis.
1831 saw the outbreak of the Carbonari
Carbonari
The Carbonari were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th-century Italy. The Italian Carbonari may have further influenced other revolutionary groups in Spain, France, Portugal and possibly Russia. Although their goals often had a patriotic and liberal focus, they lacked a...
-led uprisings in Italy. In Parma, protestors gathered in the streets to denounce the Austrian-appointed prime minister Josef von Werklein. Marie Louise did not know what to do and wanted to leave the city, but was prevented from doing so by the protestors, who saw her as someone who would listen to their demands. She managed to leave Parma between 14 and 15 February, and a provisional government led by Count Filippo Luigi Linati was formed. At Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, she wrote to her father asking him to replace Werklein. Francis sent in Austrian troops which crushed the rebellion. To avoid further turmoil, Marie Louise granted amnesty to the dissidents on September 29.
Metternich sent Charles-René de Bombelles to Marie Louise's household in 1833. Six months after his arrival, on 17 February 1834, she married him, again morganatically.
Death
Marie Louise fell ill on 9 December 1847. Her conditional worsened for the next few days. On December 17, she passed out after vomiting and never woke up again. She died in the evening. The cause of death was determined to be pleurisyPleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
.
Her body was transferred back to Vienna and buried at the Imperial Crypt.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
- 12 December 1791 – 11 August 1804: Her Royal Highness Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia
- 11 August 1804 – 2 April 1810: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Imperial, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
- 2 April 1810 – 6 April 1814: Her Imperial and Royal Majesty The Empress of the French, Queen of Italy
- 2 April 1810 – 22 June 1815: Her Imperial and Royal Majesty the Queen of Italy
- 22 June 1815 – 17 December 1847: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
Marie Louise also held, by marriage, the title Countess of Neipperg (1821–1834) and later Countess of Bombelles (1834–1847). She retained her imperial rank due to the 1814 Treaty of Paris as well as her titles Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.
Ancestors
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External links
- Marie Louise at Die Welt der Habsburger
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