Handed to Napoleon at 18 – The Habsburg Princess Whose Great-Aunt Was Marie Antoinette

In March 1810, an 18-year-old Austrian archduchess was married by proxy to Napoleon, the man her family called a monster. Marie Louise was the great-niece of Marie Antoinette, who had been guillotined by the revolution that Napoleon inherited. She gave him the heir he wanted, left him four years later, and outlived him by 26 years. In this video, we follow the record: diplomatic papers, letters, memoirs, and the work of modern historians. We test three questions. Did she love him? Did she betray him? And what happened to the son they left behind? Subscribe for the next forgotten life from history's royal courts. Images: paintings, engravings, and photographs in the public domain or under open licenses. #History #Napoleon #Habsburgs