Just Live A Little

unhistorical:

May 18, 1804: Napoleon is proclaimed “Emperor of the French”.

This date also marked the French Senate’s adoption of the Constitution of the Year XII, which established the First French Empire and declared Napoleon Bonaparte (who was, at the time, “First Consul”) Emperor Napoleon I. He held this title until his second abdication in June of 1815, following his defeat at Waterloo. 

As Emperor, his full titles were:

His Imperial and Royal Majesty Napoleon I, By the Grace of God and the Constitutions of the Republic, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine and the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt, Mediator of the Helvetic Confederation.

Napoleon, as First Consul, held a virtual dictatorship over France by the year 1800, but his new title (and his coronation) recalled the traditions of Charlemagne and the Roman emperors of antiquity. This was not an uncommon trend in Europe at the time- the same year, the title “Emperor of Austria” was proclaimed, and in 1801, it was even suggested in England that the King be granted the title “Emperor of the British Isles” instead. Across the oceans, the former French colony of Haiti named its leader (Jean-Jacques Dessalines) Emperor of Haiti. 

Distancing himself from the distasteful legacy of the old French monarchs, Napoleon emphasized his respect for the rights and happiness of his subjects and still referred to the nation as “the Republic” at his coronation. He also claimed that “to be a king is to inherit old ideas and genealogy. I don’t want to descend from anyone… The title of Emperor is greater.“