While still loving his wife, Napoleon had …

Years: 1810 - 1810
January
While still loving his wife, Napoleon had begun to think very seriously about the possibility of divorce when after a few years it became clear Empress Joséphine could not have a child.

The final die was cast when Joséphine's grandson Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, who had been declared Napoléon's heir, died of croup in 1807.

Napoleon had begun to create lists of eligible princesses.

At dinner on November 30, 1809, he let Joséphine know that—in the interest of France—he must find a wife who could produce an heir.

Joséphine had agreed to the divorce so the Emperor could remarry in the hope of having an heir.

The divorce ceremony takes place on January 10, 1810, and is a grand but solemn social occasion, and each reads a statement of devotion to the other.

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