Josephine de Beauharnais (born June 23, 1763, death - May 29, 1814) - Empress of France in 1804 - 1809, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.
early years
Her name was Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tachet de la Pagerie. She was born on June 23, 1763 in the town of Troise-Ilet on the French island of Martinique. There her father, a well-born but poor aristocrat Joseph-Gaspard Tachet de la Pagerie, served as a colonial official. Her first husband in 1779 was the 19-year-old handsome Viscount Alexander de Beauharnais. It was under this name that the whole world recognized her. And she corrected the name (the official "Joseph" turned into a sweet "Josephine"), becoming Josephine Beauharnais, the adored wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.
It was 1795 - a difficult year for the revolution, characterized by unpredictability and instability. The future frightened everyone, and therefore almost everyone who had money was drawn to fortunetellers. Those who had centimes hurried to the street fortune tellers, those who had louis went to the salon of Mademoiselle Lenormand.
Lenormand and Josephine
Two lithe figures glided down the Rue de Tournon and entered the salon, looking around timidly. They had a chance to change into the dresses of their maids in order to get here unnoticed, because all of Paris knew these beauties. One is Teresa Talien, mistress of the all-powerful leader of the revolution, Barras. The second - Josephine Beauharnais, recently widowed - her husband was executed by guillotine during the terror of 1794. She left two children (14-year-old Eugene and 12-year-old Hortense de Beauharnais), but, thank God, there were influential patrons, including, of course, her friend Talien. However, Josephine was not too worried about the death of her husband, the marriage was class-based, and she loved her husband little. And now she, without losing her taste for life, wanted to know the future.
Promotional video:
But Teresa Talien was the first to enter the diviner's office. She saw a young, but already very overweight woman, who could hardly get up when she appeared. It turned out that the fortune-teller was rather short and crooked. But her mind was sharp. “Don’t think that I didn’t see behind the dress of her mistress’s maid! She said smiling. "Sit down, your lordship, I will spread my cards on you." Teresa also smiled back, “You shouldn't call me so loud. I am not a princess or even a countess. " However, Lenormand's smile became even more mysterious: "You will become both!"
Portrait of Josephine. The work of Pierre-Paul Prudhon
After a little while Teresa ran out into the hallway and happily told her friend: "I will marry the prince!" Josephine pursed her lips in disbelief. What nonsense ?! First, marrying a prince during a revolution is like signing a death warrant for yourself. Secondly, not a single honorable prince will marry Teresa, because everyone knows that she was in love with almost all the Parisian deputies. Even Barras' current lover doesn't have much respect for her and is rumored to be beating her up. However, Josephine only remarked out loud (you can't lose an influential friend!): “If so, then I will become the wife of an Eastern Pasha! Don't you understand, Teresa, this is sheer stupidity. Let's get out of here! " But the voice of the fortune-teller, who went into the hallway, stopped Josephine: "Take your time, madam, when you listen to me, you will have nothing to envy your friend about!"
As if in a fog, Josephine followed Lenormand into the study, sat down in an armchair and stared in fascination at the soothsayer's thick fingers, deftly laying out the cards. “You will marry even better, madam! - the fortuneteller smiled mysteriously. - In less than a year, you get married. And how! You, madam, will become the Empress of France! " Josephine flushed and jumped up. This fortune-teller is crazy! To become an empress to lay down her head under the knife of the revolutionary guillotine ?! Who could think of such a thing today ?! Get out of here! And Josephine rushed to the door. “Pay attention to the young man who has just entered the waiting room! Lenormand shouted after her. - His name is Napoleon Bonaparte. He was introduced to you last week. You have seen it, but you have not seen it. But you are destined to see it very soon."
Fulfilled prophecies
The door banged, and both beauties, without looking back, jumped out of the salon. None of them paid attention to the short young man who had just entered the fortune-teller's salon. How many people go to fortune-tellers ?! Both beauties thought to themselves that they had in vain laid out a round sum for the session. But everything came true. Teresa Talien first married the count, then after his death - for the prince de Chimey. By the way, she bore him seven children and was quite happy. And this happened already in the days of the empire, when the title of prince again became in high esteem.
Josephine became the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Needless to say, this was the same young man who was waiting in Lenormand's waiting room? A few days later they met again at some holiday. Then again and again, until they realized that they could not live without each other.
Josephine's second marriage
1796, March 9 - they were combined in a civil marriage, which became quite fashionable during the revolution. However, later they got married. But, signing at the mayor's office of revolutionary Paris, both showed evidence of great love: Josephine wrote herself 4 years younger, but Bonaparte added one and a half to himself, because she was 33 years old, and he was only 26. They know about the history of their life and love. all. But it turns out that Lenormand found out about this earlier than others.
Josephine Beauharnais was adored by Napoleon. Going on hikes, he constantly wrote letters to her. He missed him to such an extent that in his sleep the smells of Josephine drove him crazy. "I beg you, don't wash, my angel!" - he wrote. Well, on the day of the wedding, Napoleon gave his wife a ring with an engraving inside it: "To the woman of my destiny."
Although, despite the fatefulness of the marriage, the spouses were not averse to looking for thrills on the side. But their betrayals only fueled mutual mad passion. But they had no children. At first, this did not upset both of them. Napoleon sincerely fell in love with Josephine's children from her first marriage, promoted them through life on a par with his many nephews. The career of all Bonaparte-Beauharnais was on the rise. 1804, December 2 - the climax came. On this day, the magnificent coronation of Napoleon and Josephine took place in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine
The couple arrived at the cathedral in a gilded carriage. The new emperor looked extremely luxurious: in a purple velvet robe, short puff pants, white stockings embroidered with precious stones. Josephine, on the other hand, was dressed in a modest white dress, but with a chic, raised lace collar. And in her hair shone diamonds of unprecedented size, not so long ago belonging to the royal house of Bourbons.
Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine
In the cathedral, the archbishop threw purple robes trimmed with ermine over the royal couple. And Pope Pius VII himself came from Rome to crown the newly-born emperor with his wife. It was he who was supposed to place the royal crown on the head of the new French emperor. But the crown turned out to be extremely heavy, and old Pius was tired and anxious. His short arms could not lift such a weight so high as to solemnly lay on Napoleon's head. Bonaparte needed to bow his head. But his pride and rebellious spirit did not allow him to do this. And then Napoleon made an unprecedented - with a sharp movement he grabbed the crown from the trembling hands of Pius VII and hastily put it on. In a word, he crowned himself.
And a minute later, jumping up and down with impatience, Bonaparte put the crown on his wife's head. The fortuneteller Lenormand's prediction came true - a girl from Martinique became a French empress. Only it did not bring happiness. Becoming emperor, Bonaparte increasingly told his wife that he needed an heir to continue the dynasty. It is clear that Josephine, who came to the 40-year mark, could no longer give birth to a son. Since that time, her whole life has turned into a nightmare. After 3 years of quarrels, scandals, tears, hysterics and admonitions, Bonaparte managed to persuade his wife to give him a divorce.
Divorce
1809, December 16 - Napoleon officially divorced Josephine and on April 1, 1810 he entered into a dynastic marriage with the Princess of Austria - Marie-Louise of Habsburg-Lorraine, who a year later gave birth to his legal heir. However, the ex-husband remained attentive to Josephine. He left her the title of Empress, gave her a castle near Evreux, where she lived magnificently and luxuriously, arranging festivities, giving balls and receiving guests.
Guardian angel of Napoleon and France
It was only after the divorce from Josephine that Bonaparte's affairs went downhill. Fortune teller Lenormand was right in this. It was not for nothing that she warned Napoleon on that first visit to her, when Napoleon faced his future wife Josephine at the door of the waiting room: “You will remain on the throne only until you forget that your life partner was sent to you by Fate. If you leave her, Fortune will leave you! Alas, the future emperor did not heed this warning. Neither the official wedding with a representative of the most respected royal house in Europe, nor the birth of the long-awaited heir helped. Napoleon's empire collapsed. Apparently, it was Josephine who was her guardian angel
1814 Josephine watched in horror as the Allied forces entered Paris. True, they turned out to be gallant, especially the Russian Tsar-Emperor Alexander I. He was touchingly related to the beautiful woman who, as he believed, had experienced so many troubles. Alexander adored his wife and could not understand how Napoleon decided to divorce his wife, with whom he lived his whole life.
Death of Josephine Beauharnais
The Parisians looked with amazement at this couple - the Russian tsar and the former empress of France, strolling along the Seine embankment. Alas, it was these walks that turned out to be fatal for Josephine. Fascinated by the gallantry of Alexander I, she tried to look as young as possible (she was already 50 years old) and more beautiful. Indeed, her future and the life of her dear former spouse, though she had abandoned her, depended on the attitude of the Russian autocrat. Once Josephine and Alexander were walking in the park of the Malmaison Palace. It was chilly in the evening, but Josephine allowed herself to wear only a light scarf. It was then that she caught a cold. And on May 29, 1814, Josephine Beauharnais-Bonaparte died in a fever.
They buried her in the imperial coronation mantle, and representatives of the best houses of Europe, headed by the Russian emperor Alexander I, came to pay their last forgiveness, but her beloved Napoleon died alone on St. Helena on May 5, 1821. And dying, he whispered just three words: "Army. France. Josephine…".
E. Korovina
