Empress Josephine: The Great Love of Napoleon Bonaparte
Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII are just some of the most famous, torrid, and often tragic love affairs that are present even today in popular memory and with good reason, but one common feature we may spot in all three that all ended in tragedy with at least one side of the affair ending up dead rather than the couple enjoy a happily ever after.
One may even add that seemingly what made these love stories so memorable was the fact that they were tragic, and the fiery passion ended up burning down the affair, and in the case of Antony and Cleopatra, a lot more.
The love story of Empress Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte is very similar in many regards. A story full of passion and love but also cheating, and selfishness, and one that ultimately came to a premature end. Before jumping into the marriage, first, let’s see who was Empress Josephine and how she even met Napoleon in the first place.
Early life
Born in 1763, the woman who today is remembered as Empress Josephine de Beauharnais was called Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, the daughter of a minor French noble family living in Martinique, one of the French sugar colonies in the Caribbean.
