I first learn about Emperor’s Francis’ habit with wives from the memoirs of Queen Hortense. Louis brought this subject up to her and she took it as a slightly veiled death threat.
It’s also worth noting that Napoleon’s son died young in this man’s proximity and that Marie Louise’s lover had a wife (who had 4 children with Count Neipperg) that dropped dead right on time so that Neipperg was free and clear to take care of everything as Marie Louise took possession of her new states. She was required to leave her son with Napoleon behind as a condition of getting these duchies which had already been granted to her in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. She soon gave birth to more children with Neipperg while her husband Napoleon and their son were left to the mercy of their enemies.
The passage excerpted below is by historian Frederic Masson.
How much does he prefer his [Emperor Francis’] gray coat and family life! He is such a good husband, so close and loyal, that he kills his wives. He was twenty years old when, for the first time, he married: Elisabeth of Wurtemberg lasted barely two years.
Six months after she died, he married his cousin Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Sicile. From September 19, 1790, where he led her to the altar, to April 13, 1807, he had thirteen children who lived and that's not counting the miscarriages.
From the very active correspondence that Marie-Thérèse maintains with her mother, Marie-Caroline, a figure emerges who had tenderness, almost humility, very gentle, with constant attention given to the husband and the children. In an intimate life, there was fishing, hunting and walking as entertainment; She had no influence: “The Emperor does not allow the Empress to interfere in business; he gets mad at her if she does.”
However, she does not leave the husband, she’s everywhere, always pregnant, exhausted. For a moment, after Colloredo's dismissal, it is thought that she will take some political action; because she has her creatures: Kutchera, Zichy, Baldacci, which she pushes, but she dies of her last child, April 13, 1807, and nine months after she is replaced by the archduchess Maria-Ludovica-Beatrix, the daughter of Archduke Ferdinand.
Still it took a great effort for the Emperor to wait until January 9, 1808, and, since the month of August, he had already fixed his choice.
He comes almost every day "to the Archduchess of Milan to see his wife (sic), with whom he is very much in love".
He cannot do without a woman, and in vain, to delay the marriage, they try to make him see from time to time a few people. "His Majesty said that beyond two or three embarrass him and put him to sleep. He needs a wife.”
About a wife, we must hear from Kourakin, sent to Vienna by the Empress Marie of Russia to offer the hand of the Grand Duchess Catherine … The eldest daughter of Francis was Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Caroline-Lucie, who turned eighteen on December 12, 1809.
J’apprends tout d’abord l’habit de l’Empereur François avec les épouses des mémoires de la Reine Hortense. Louis lui a parlé de ce sujet et elle l'a considéré comme une menace de mort légèrement voilée.
Le passage ci-dessous est de l'historien Frédéric Masson. Il convient également de noter que le fils de Napoléon est décédé jeune à proximité de cet homme et que l'amant de Marie Louise avait une femme (qui a eu 4 enfants avec le Compte Neipperg) qui est morte à temps parfait pour que Neipperg soit libre de prendre soin de tout comme Marie Louise a pris possession de ses nouveaux états.
Marie Louise devait laisser son fils avec Napoléon pour obtenir ces duchés qui lui avaient déjà été accordés dans le traité de Fontainebleau. Elle a bientôt donné naissance à plus d'enfants avec Neipperg tandis que son mari Napoléon et leur fils ont été laissés à la merci de leurs ennemis.
