Editing Napoleon (section)

==== Consolidation of the empire ====
[[File:Europe 1812 map en.png|thumb|260px|alt=Map of Europe. French Empire shown as bigger than present day France as it included parts of present-day Netherlands and Italy.|The [[First French Empire|French Empire]] at its greatest extent in 1812:{{Legend|#B284BE|French Empire}}{{Legend|#71A6D2|French [[satellite state]]s}}]]

Napoleon's union with Joséphine had not produced a child, and he decided to secure the dynasty and strengthen its position in Europe by a strategic marriage into one of Europe's major royal houses. In November 1809, he announced his decision to divorce Joséphine, and the marriage was annulled in January 1810.{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|pp=321-25}} Napoleon had already commenced negotiations for the marriage of Tsar Alexander's sister Anna, but the tsar responded that she was too young. Napoleon then turned to Austria, and a marriage to the Austrian emperor's daughter, Marie Louise, was quickly agreed.{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|pp=326-330}} The marriage was formalized in a civil ceremony on 1 April and a religious service at the Louvre on the following day. The marriage to Marie Louise was widely seen as a shift in French policy towards stronger ties with Austria and away from the already strained relationship with Russia.{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|p=328-30}} On 20 March 1811, Marie Louise gave birth to the heir apparent, [[Napoleon II|François Charles Joseph Napoleon]], King of Rome.{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|pp=334-41}}

With the annexation of the [[Papal States]] (May 1809, February 1810), Holland (July 1810) and the northern coastal regions of Westphalia (August 1810), mainland France further increased its territory. Napoleon now ruled about 40% of the European population either directly or indirectly through his satellite kingdoms.{{sfnp|Dwyer|2013|pp=350-53}}