This is a bit of a weird and rather improbable one...let me elaborate. It was long rumored that Napoleon was in an incestuous relationship with his little sister Pauline. Supposedly, Napoleon, who was always fascinated with the ancient east, fantasized about marrying her and ruling on the river Nile, like the old pharaohs. I think a few of his former courtier and marshals made the same charge in later years. It's almost certainly bullshit since "that guy is fucking his relatives" is one of the oldest political smears of all time.
But say it wasn't and all the power goes to Napoleon's head even more so than it did IOTL, to where he decides he really can do absolutely whatever he likes.
c. 1810, When he realizes he needs an heir and divorces Josephine, instead of going for a foreign princess he announces he's going to marry Pauline. His ministers and marshals all laugh at the awkward joke until they realize he's serious.
Basically I'm just curious whether he could get away with it. Obviously marrying your sibling was as big a no-no in this period as it is today. But Napoleon was at his most powerful around the time he married Marie-Louise OTL, and very likely the most powerful guy on earth. I don't know if even this would be enough to make much of a dent in his support base. Is anyone going to get off the Napoleonic gravy train just because the Emperor's a little touched in the head? Obviously the church isn't going to bless this marriage but then again Napoleon's already been excommunicated.
But say it wasn't and all the power goes to Napoleon's head even more so than it did IOTL, to where he decides he really can do absolutely whatever he likes.
c. 1810, When he realizes he needs an heir and divorces Josephine, instead of going for a foreign princess he announces he's going to marry Pauline. His ministers and marshals all laugh at the awkward joke until they realize he's serious.
Basically I'm just curious whether he could get away with it. Obviously marrying your sibling was as big a no-no in this period as it is today. But Napoleon was at his most powerful around the time he married Marie-Louise OTL, and very likely the most powerful guy on earth. I don't know if even this would be enough to make much of a dent in his support base. Is anyone going to get off the Napoleonic gravy train just because the Emperor's a little touched in the head? Obviously the church isn't going to bless this marriage but then again Napoleon's already been excommunicated.