Hortense
Queen Hortense
Hortense was Queen of Holland and the adoptive daughter of Napoleon. She was married to his brother, Louis, who would later be crowned Louis I of Holland . The marriage was not a happy one, and the two despised each other. Despite this, they together had three children, Napoleon Charles, who died as a child, Napoleon-Louis, and Charles Louis Napoleon. The latter two would grow up to be Prince Louis and Prince Charles respectively.
Hortense reluctantly accompanied Louis to Holland, and were both welcomed warmly. Though she enjoyed her time in the country, her relationship with Louis made her feel miserable. At the death of their four year old son in 1807, she attempted to leave for Paris with their remaining children. However, at the end of the War of the Fifth Coalition, the Battle of Antwerp, and the subsequent total independence of Holland, her status in Paris soured. Hortense and her children were declared political hostages by Napoleon against Louis. Hortense used the last of her Parisian connections to escape to Holland and the Dutch court.
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