From Henry VIII To Lola Montez by A G Mogan

Author:A G Mogan [Mogan, A G]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BOOK 2
Published: 2018-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

The Austrian alliance may have seemed unnatural but it was quite possible, at least according to Napoleon. In the year of 1809, Napoleon was able to destroy the empire of the Hapsburgs in his fifth war with Austria during the battle of Wagram. Napoleon was able to ruthlessly take region after region from Francis. He had even hinted that the Hapsburgs might be dethroned and that Austria might disappear from the map of Europe, to be divided between himself and the Russian Czar, who was still his ally. It was at this precise moment that the Czar refused to give the hand of his sister Anne, which greatly wounded Napoleon’s pride.

Because of Napoleon’s wounded pride, the diplomats of Vienna saw an opening and decided to take their chance. Prince Metternich cautiously suggested that the Austrian archduchess would be an appropriate bride for the French conqueror. This offering soothed Napoleon and he decided to accept the proposal. Things moved swiftly after that and before long it was understood that there was to be a new empress in France, and that she was to be none other than the daughter of the man who had been Napoleon's most persistent enemy upon the Continent. The girl was to be given in order to mollify an imposing adventurer. After such a marriage, Austria would be safe from Napoleon’s plundering. The reigning dynasty would remain firmly seated upon its historic throne.

But how did the girl feel about her future husband? She had always heard Napoleon spoken of as an ogre, a man who was a ruthless enemy of her people. She knew that less than a year before, he had publicly and very boldly called the Emperor Francis a coward. Up to this point, she had imagined Napoleon as a blood-stained, repugnant, and yet all-powerful monster, outside the pale of human liking and respect. It’s hard to imagine the thoughts that must have run through her head upon learning that she was to become his bride.

As many German girls of rank, Marie Louise had been brought up in quiet modesty and complete innocence. In person she was a tall blonde, with a mass of light brown hair tumbling about a face that could be called attractive because it was so youthful. She had a rosy complexion and clear blue eyes; her figure was good, though too full for a girl who was younger than her years.

She had a large and generous mouth with full lips, the lower one being the true "Hapsburg lip," slightly pendulous—a feature which has remained for generation after generation as a sign of Hapsburg blood. One sees that feature in the present emperor of Austria, in the late Queen Regent of Spain, and in the present King of Spain, Alfonso. All the artists who made miniatures or paintings of Marie Louise softened down this racial mark so that no likeness of her shows it as it really was. But many who knew her saw her as simple and innocent, a German

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