Josephine Beauharnais
(Josephine Bonaparte)
1763–1814
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Josephine was chosen to replace her recently deceased sister as wife of Alexandre de Beauharnais in order to save her family from poverty. While the marriage was not a happy one, she did bear him two children, Hortense and Eugene de Beauharnais. During the Reign of Terror in France, Alexandre was killed by the guillotine while Josephine was shut away in prison for retaining counter-revolutionary acquaintances. Five days after her husband’s death, Reign of Terror initiator Maximilian Robespierre was executed and she was released.
Now a widow, Josephine began having intimate relationships with several political leaders, among them Napoleon. Napoleon proposed one year after their first encounter, and they were wed shortly thereafter. He continued to keep several mistresses, though, which tarnished the lovers’ relationship. She nearly separated from him before their coronation when she caught him with another woman, but the two were reconciled and Josephine became Empress of France. Napoleon divorced her so that he could marry into a royal family and produce an heir for his growing empire, but the two remained on good terms until her death of pneumonia during Napoleon's imprisonment in Elba.
Key events during the life of Josephine de Beauharnais:
| Born | |
| Married Alexandre de Beauharnais | |
| Arrested by the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror | |
| Released following the end of the Reign of Terror | |
| Married Napoleon Bonaparte | |
| Crowned Empress of France | |
| Napoleon divorced her because she did not bear any children | |
| Died of pneumonia |
| Book Links |
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Other Resources
| Parentage and Birth in | Hortense by John S. C. Abbott |
| Marriage of Josephine and Bonaparte in | Hortense by John S. C. Abbott |
Image Links | ||
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 Josephine taking leave of her children in Hortense |
 Reconciliation between Napoleon and Josephine in Hortense |
 The DivorceAannounced in Hortense |
Napoleon crowning his wife, Josephine in Back Matter |
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| Victorious general who rose to power during the French Revolution. Crowned himself Emperor and restored France to greatness. | |
| Extravagant Queen of France. Beheaded during French Revolution. | |
| Key figure of the French Revolution. Leader of the Reign of Terror. | |
| Key figure of the French Revolution who was eventually lost his head. | |
| Stepson of Napoleon, who accompanied him on all his early campaigns. Later Prince of Italy. | |
| Step-daughter, and sister-in-law of Napolean Bonaparte, and mother of Napoleon III of France. |