Born in 1763 in Martinique, Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie was sent to France at the age of 16 to marry Alexandre de Beauharnais. In 1795, by then a widow, she met Bonaparte, who feminized her second forename, and married her in a civil ceremony in 1796. In 1804, he crowned her Empress during his coronation. The couple divorced in 1809, as Joséphine had been unable to give the Emperor an heir. She kept her rank, title and, notably, the Malmaison estate with all its collections. Often described as frivolous, Joséphine owned a large collection of precious jewels, particularly pearl
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