Today in French History: Napoleon becomes Emperor

But which one?  Well, both of them, in a manner of speaking.

David, Jacques-Louis, c. 1805. Coronation of Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in Notre-Dame de Paris, December 2, 1804.

On a cold December 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned or, more rightly crowned himself, Emperor of the French. He did it amid much pomp and circumstance at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris – his choice – not at the Cathedral of Reims, the traditional location for royal coronations.  Although then Pope Pius VII was in attendance, he merely blessed the crown and other regalia.  Then, returning them to the altar from whence they came, he took his seat. That was Napoleon’s cue to advance on the now blessed replica of the Charlemagne crown (the original having been destroyed during the Revolution), which he placed briefly upon his own head, then touched it to the head of his empress, Josephine.  The crown of choice for the first Emperor of the French was a laurel wreath made of gold, the likes of which were worn by Roman Emperors.

 Ingres, Jean Auguste Dominuque. Napoleon on his Imperial throne, 1806Exactly 47 years later to the day, on December 2, 1851, the nephew of Napoleon I, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, engineered a coup d’état that brought an abrupt end to the 2^nd French Republic and National Assembly.  Shortly thereafter, in 1852, he re-established the French Empire that had fallen with the capture and life-long imprisonment of his uncle in 1814 and 1815 and took the name, Napoleon III.  Being a modern Emperor, however, he opted to neither have a coronation nor wear a crown.  But he did have one specially made for his empress, Eugenie.

December 2 is also the date of Napoleon I’s victory over the Russo-Austrian army at Austerlitz, in Moravia (present day Czech Republic), which brought an end to the Holy Roman Empire.