When he became Emperor in 1804 Napoleon decided to give the Grand Trianon to his mother.
Furniture was delivered but “Madame Mère”, as Napoleon’s mother was known, had no interest in the Grand Trianon, largely because it had no bathrooms and toilets.
Josephine had been working with Napoleon on re-furnishing the Grand Trianon in 1809 and had ordered new furniture.
At the end of that year Napoleon divorced Josephine* and she would never get to stay overnight at the Grand Trianon.
The first time Napoleon stayed overnight at the Grand Trianon was December 15 1809, the day after officially signing the divorce papers with Josephine. The next day he went to Malmaison to see her and organised for Josephine and her daughter Hortense to join him at the Grand Trianon for Christmas day.
Ten weeks later Napoleon married Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the Austrian Emperor by proxy in Vienna. Marie-Louise, not Josephine, occupied the Empress’ apartment at the Grand Trianon.
When Louis XIV built the Grand Trianon, he moved his apartment twice before finally settling next to Madame de Maintenon’s apartment. Initially his great grandson Louis XV had no interest in the Grand Trianon. Everything changed when he wanted to spend time there with Madame de Pompadour. Madame de Pompadour occupied the former apartment of Madame de Maintenon. Louis XV turned Louis XIV’s large bedroom into a dining room (dining rooms were the new hot thing) and occupied the smaller rooms next to Madame de Pompadour.
Napoleon’s new five room apartment combined both apartments, with full length doors opening on to the gardens in a private courtyard.
*When Josephine did not get pregnant, Napoleon assumed he was the problem because she already had two children. He was fairly relaxed with the situation. He had organised the marriage of his younger brother Louis to Josephine’s daughter Hortense. When they had a son he thought he would be a suitable heir.
Napoleon had an illegitimate son at the end of 1806 but it appears he was not entirely convinced the child was his, in spite of the resemblance. It was when the young Polish countess Marie Walewska became pregnant he had no doubt he was the father of the child. He divorced Josephine (who was 46 at that stage) when Marie was pregnant. There was no thought he would marry Marie.
He began his search for what he bluntly described as a “womb”. His ambition was to marry the sister of the Russian Tsar or the daughter of the Austrian Emperor. His dynasty was in play. Marie gave birth to a son five weeks after Napoleon greeted his new bride at Compiègne.
