Editing Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (section)

==Wedding==
[[Image:Napoleon Marie Louise Marriage1.jpeg|thumb|right|250px| ''[[The Wedding of Napoleon and Marie Louise]]'' by [[Georges Rouget]], 1810]]
Marie Louise was married by proxy to Napoleon on 11 March 1810 at the [[Augustinian Church, Vienna]].<ref name="dsa40">de Saint-Amand, p. 40</ref> Napoleon was represented by [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]], the bride's uncle.<ref name="dsa38">de Saint-Amand, p. 38</ref> According to the French ambassador, the marriage "was celebrated with a magnificence that it would be hard to surpass, by the side of which even the brilliant festivities that have preceded it are not to be mentioned".<ref name="dsa42">de Saint-Amand, p. 42</ref> She became [[List of French consorts|Empress of the French]] and [[List of Italian queens|Queen of Italy]].

Marie Louise departed Vienna on 13 March,<ref name="dsa44">de Saint-Amand, p. 44</ref> probably expecting never to return.<ref name="dsa47">de Saint-Amand, p. 47</ref> Upon arriving in France she was placed in the custody of Napoleon's sister, who had her put through a symbolic old ritual. Tradition dictated that a royal bride coming to France must keep nothing of her homeland, especially her clothes. Accordingly, Marie Louise was stripped of her dress, corset, stockings, and chemise, leaving her completely naked. Napoleon's sister then made the nude Marie take a bath. She was then redressed in French bridal clothes. [[Marie Antoinette]] had been put through a similar ritual when she arrived in France in 1770. She met Napoleon for the first time on 27 March in [[Compiègne]],<ref name="dsa60">de Saint-Amand, p. 60</ref> remarking to him: "You are much better-looking than your portrait."<ref name="dsa60"/>

[[File:Ruggieri Elémens De Pyrotechnie 1811 Plate 27 b1071419 028 tif n583xv797.tiff| thumb|right | Drawing for the temple of Hymen, final firework display at the Celebration of the Marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise at the Residence of Princess Pauline Borghèse, the Palais De Neuilly]]

The civil wedding was held at the {{ill|Église Saint-Jacques de Compiègne|lt=Saint James Church|fr|Église Saint-Jacques de Compiègne}} on 1 April 1810.<ref name="dsa63">de Saint-Amand, p. 63</ref> The next day, Napoleon and Marie Louise made the journey to [[Paris]] in the coronation coach.<ref name="dsa68">de Saint-Amand, p. 68</ref> The [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] cavalry led the procession, followed by the herald-at-arms and then the carriages.<ref name="dsa68"/> The [[Marshal of France|Marshals of France]] rode on each side, near the doors of the carriages.<ref name="dsa68"/> The procession arrived at the [[Tuileries Palace]],<ref name="dsa70">de Saint-Amand, p. 70</ref> and the Imperial couple made their way to the [[Salon Carré]] chapel (in the [[Louvre Palace|Louvre]]) for the religious wedding ceremony.<ref name="dsa70"/> The ceremony was conducted by Cardinal [[Joseph Fesch]], [[Grand Almoner of France]] and Napoleon's uncle.<ref name="dsa71">de Saint-Amand, p. 71</ref> A Bridal March was composed for the occasion by [[Ferdinando Paer]],<ref>Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol VI, p. 487, '''PAER, Ferdinando'''</ref> and [[Cantata for the Wedding of Emperor Napoleon and Marie-Louise of Austria|a cantata]] by [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]].

Elaborate celebrations continued to be held in May and June 1810. These included a ball, a [[masque]], a sea-battle on the Seine, and a display of fireworks created by [[Claude-Fortuné Ruggieri]], for 4,000 people.<ref name="Guffey">{{cite book |last1=Guffey |first1=Elizabeth E. |title=Drawing an elusive line : the art of Pierre-Paul Prud'hon |date=2001 |publisher=University of Delaware Press; Associated University Press |location=Newark, Del.; London |isbn=9780874137347 |page=146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elb3l5uLq4IC&pg=PA146}}</ref><ref name="Elémens">{{cite book|last1=Ruggieri |first1=Claude-Fortuné |title=Elémens De Pyrotechnie |url=https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/dr26xz10n |chapter=Plate 27: Final Firework Display at the Celebration of the Marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise at the Residence of Princess Pauline Borghèse, the Palais De Neuilly, on 14 June 1810 |publisher=Barba, libraire, Palais-Royal, derrièâtre français, no. 51; Magimel, libraire, rue de Thionvill |location=Paris, France|date=1811 |access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>

By this marriage, Napoleon became the great-nephew-in-law of [[Louis XVI]] and [[Marie-Antoinette]].