The day the Pope refused to crown Napoleon | EUROtoday

It’sis the sort of anecdote that spices up our French historical past… The 1^er December 1804, the whole lot is prepared for the coronation of Napoleon I^er. All ? Except the important: the emperor will not be religiously married and, when the pope, who got here specifically from Rome, learns the information, it’s the final straw: he merely refuses to set foot within the Notre Dame cathedral. -Lady. Let alone the small humiliations that he has been subjected to since his arrival, however to crown an illegitimate couple, to bless sovereign cohabitees in a state of mortal sin, that is in his eyes a farce that he refuses to condone.

Napoleon I^er is nonetheless married, however civilly. He married Joséphine unexpectedly in March 1796 on the city corridor of II^e district of Paris, positioned within the Mondragon lodge. He is head over heels in love, she is above all searching for help to replenish her funds and guarantee the way forward for her two kids. But the union was not adopted by any church ceremony, post-revolutionary France being in full de-Christianization and nobody bothered with a spiritual blessing anymore. Joséphine tried a number of occasions to persuade Napoleon to go earlier than a priest, in useless, figuring out {that a} spiritual marriage can be harder to interrupt…

ALSO READ Coronation of Napoleon I^er : preparationsHow does the Pope uncover the pot aux roses? It is Joséphine herself who spills the beans. In 1804, this aristocrat was on the peak of her glory, she was making ready to take the crown, however she knew her place was unsure. She is older than Napoleon, her husband collects mistresses – which makes her aggressive and jealous – and, worse, she has turn out to be sterile, most likely because of possible salpingitis.

The Beauharnais and the Bonapartes, rival clans

Added to that is the hatred of the Bonaparte clan, who discover her “false” and venal, watching with envy the gold and items swell her heritage… “They hate her, they call her “the old woman”, explains the historian Pierre Branda, writer of a wonderful biography on the empress*. They are cautious of her, she has her community, shows actual presence, they’ve an inferiority complicated… And they can not bear to see Napoleon put the Beauharnais and the Bonapartes on an equal degree. Joseph additionally pushed his brother to divorce from this time. But Napoleon believes that she should share the glory with him. He decides: “She will be crowned! Even if it cost me 200,000 men!” »

Joséphine, a wise flyer, understood how a lot the coronation might serve her pursuits. She is sort of near the Pope, who calls her his “good daughter”, they’ve been corresponding for a number of months. And when His Holiness arrived in Paris on the finish of November 1804, it was fairly pure that he granted him non-public audiences. During considered one of them, Joséphine confesses and admits to him that she will not be married religiously. The pope blames the blow, recollects that canon regulation doesn’t acknowledge civil marriage and informs the emperor that his participation within the coronation is now unattainable, that he can’t “proceed with the triple anointing of an illegitimate wife” …

ALSO READ The monetary shenanigans of Napoleon and JoséphineNapoleon is trapped: France and Europe have their eyes turned in the direction of Notre-Dame, unattainable to delay or cancel the ceremony. And how can we clarify the absence of the Pope, who got here on objective? It can be unattainable to cover Joséphine, we must go into particulars of a personal nature which might in a short time make headlines in European newspapers… In quick, the affair actually smells like a scorch.

Secret spiritual ceremony celebrated by Cardinal Fesch

The emperor has no selection however to rapidly set up his spiritual marriage ceremony. An altar was improvised in his research within the Tuileries. The affair should stay secret, there aren’t any visitors, the pope offers the required dispensations with out making a fuss… And the 1^er December, round 4 p.m., Napoleon was united earlier than God with Joséphine throughout a fast ceremony celebrated by his uncle, Cardinal Fesch, within the presence of solely two aides-de-camp – undoubtedly Berthier and Duroc. A rapidly dispatched marriage ceremony which permits scandal to be averted.

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Answer

Joséphine gained a spherical, however not the sport. The subsequent day, she triumphed underneath the vaults of the cathedral in her white satin gown strewn with gold bees, with sleeves enriched with diamonds, all lined along with her heavy purple cloak lined with ermine. But 5 years later, Napoleon imposed the divorce. The dynasty calls for a toddler, Josephine is sacrificed. We then discover pretexts and fallacious arguments to interrupt the oath exchanged on the Tuileries. “But she won the battle of image,” judges her biographer Pierre Branda: within the giant coronation portray, she intrigues with the painter David to seek out herself within the middle, which provides actual magnificence to the ceremony. That day, Joséphine shines: she is married, topped, consecrated earlier than the pope. And turns into a world icon. »

* “Josephine, the swan paradox”, by Pierre Branda, Editions Perrin, 2016.