Life as empress Marie Louise was excited as Napoleon’s wife and settled in quickly in the French court. She developed a close friendship with her ''
Première dame d'honneur'', the
Duchess of Montebello, while he had loved Joséphine, and though he claimed Joséphine remained his greatest friend even after their amicable divorce, and that he still would choose 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." However, the marriage was not without tension; Napoleon sometimes remarked to aides that Marie Louise was too shy and timid, compared to the outgoing and passionate Josephine, with whom he remained in close contact, upsetting Marie Louise. 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 quiet woman and never interfered in politics. Privately, she was polite and gentle. Napoleon arranged for Marie Louise to participate in some carefully selected charity assignments, most notably the
Société de Charité Maternelle, for which he made her Honorary President.
Birth of first child '' by
Joseph Franque, 1811 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 Romans.
Resumption of war In May 1812, a month before the
French invasion of Russia, 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. It was also in Dresden where she met
Count Adam Albert von Neipperg for the first time. She would marry him
morganatically after her husband Napoleon I died on St. Helena in 1821. Napoleon left Dresden on 29 May 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 18 July. She kept in touch with Napoleon throughout the war. The invasion of Russia ended disastrously for France. More than half of the
Grande Armée was destroyed by the
Russian Winter and
guerrilla attacks. After the failed
Malet coup of October 1812, Napoleon hastened his return to France and reunited with his wife on the night of 18 December.
Collapse of the Empire . In April 1814 Napoleon attempted to abdicate in favour of his son with Marie Louise as
regent The weakened French position triggered the
Sixth Coalition.
Prussia allied with Russia and declared war on France (the
United Kingdom was already at war with France), but Austria stayed out due to relations between the Imperial families. On 30 March, 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 19 October and returned to Saint Cloud on 9 November. On 23 January 1814, Marie Louise was appointed Regent for the second time. On 25 January, at 03:00 in the morning, Napoleon embraced Marie Louise and his son for the last time. 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. On 29 March, the court left Paris. She did not expect her father to dethrone Napoleon and deprive her son of the crown of France. On 3 April, the Senate, at the instigation of Talleyrand, announced the deposition of the Emperor. Marie Louise was unaware of this until 7 April, 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 from rejoining her husband by her advisors, who fed her accounts that Napoleon was distraught with grief over the death of Joséphine. On 16 April, her father arrived at Blois to meet her. At the advice of Emperor Francis, Marie Louise departed Rambouillet with her son for Vienna on 23 April. 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." ==Congress of Vienna and relationship with Neipperg==