Beauharnais

Beauharnais is a French noble surname associated with a prominent aristocratic family of the Ancien Régime. The family rose to particular prominence in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, most notably through its connection to Napoleon Bonaparte's wife and by the offices held by its male members during the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.

Alexandre de Beauharnais (1753–1794) was a French nobleman and military officer who supported the early revolutionary government and was executed during the Reign of Terror. His marriage linked the Beauharnais name to one of the era’s most famous figures.

Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763–1814), born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, became Empress of the French as the wife of Napoleon I and remained an influential figure at the imperial court throughout Napoleon’s reign.

Eugène de Beauharnais (1781–1824), their son, served as Napoleon's viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy and later became a senior noble figure in post-revolution Europe. He married Princess Augusta of Bavaria, and their descendants formed the Leuchtenberg dynasty, which connected the Beauharnais line to several European royal houses.

The Beauharnais name is therefore closely associated with the Napoleonic era and with a broader European aristocratic network that continued into the 19th century.