Editing Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (section)

==Marriage proposal==
After escaping an assassination attempt in Vienna, while negotiating the [[Treaty of Schönbrunn]] on 12 October 1809, [[Emperor Napoleon]] decided that he needed an heir to cement his relatively young Empire.<ref name="dsa10">de Saint-Amand, p. 10</ref> He also sought the validation and legitimization of his Empire by marrying a member of one of the leading royal families of Europe. He began proceedings to divorce [[Joséphine de Beauharnais]], and per his family's wishes, he began searching for a new empress. His wish to marry [[Anna Pavlovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia]], the youngest sister of [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar Alexander I of Russia]], caused alarm in Austria, where they were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other.<ref name="dsa12">de Saint-Amand, p. 12</ref> At the persuasion of [[Prince Metternich]], a marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise was suggested by Emperor Francis to the [[Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara|Count of Narbonne]]<ref>Bertier de Sauvigny, p. 116</ref><ref name="dsa15">de Saint-Amand, p. 15</ref> but no official overture was made by the Austrians.<ref name="dsa18">de Saint-Amand, p. 18</ref> Though officials in Paris and Austria were beginning to accept the possibility of the union, Marie Louise was kept uninformed of developments.<ref name="dsa20">de Saint-Amand, p. 20</ref>

Frustrated by the Russians delaying the marriage negotiations, Napoleon rescinded his proposal in late January 1810 and began negotiations to marry Marie Louise with the Austrian ambassador, the [[Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg|Prince of Schwarzenberg]].<ref name="dsa21">de Saint-Amand, p. 21</ref> Schwarzenberg signed the marriage contract on 7 February.<ref name="dsa22">de Saint-Amand, p. 22</ref> Marie Louise was informed of the marriage by Metternich.<ref name="dsa24">de Saint-Amand, p. 24</ref> When asked for consent, she replied: "I wish only what my duty commands me to wish."<ref name="dsa24"/>

However, earlier in life, a young Marie Louise had referred to [[Napoleon]] as "Krampus" and even "the Anti-Christ" in her letters to her governess, and when word got to Marie Louise that Napoleon was searching for a wife, she wrote: "I pity the poor princess whom he'll choose..." At the time of Napoleon's proposal, she actually hoped to marry [[Francis IV, Duke of Modena]], who was the older brother of her step-mother.<ref name=":0" />