'Never ascribe to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence. ' -Napoleon Bonaparte
Among all of Napoleon's many achievements, it's arguably his second marriage that was the most shocking for its time: Napoleon, born a commoner, rose to such heights that he did the otherwise unthinkable for his age: he married into Europe's most prestigious ruling family, the House of Habsburg. It was surely the first time in four centuries that a Habsburg had not married royal blood.
