Napoleon had a ‘lucky star’, which he would seek out in the sky.

He always carried a portrait miniature of her with him on campaigns and when it was dropped or damaged, believed it augured ill.

Napoleon believed that Josephine brought him good luck.

He always asked of his generals, ‘Is he lucky?’ Napoleon was very superstitious, believing that some people were doomed to bad luck.Napoleon liked to surround himself with the unusually tall soldiers of the Elite guard, who would have made him look short in comparison. In actual fact, the height of five foot two recorded on his death was in French units, which were equivalent in today’s measurement to five foot, six and a half inches or 169 centimetres – an average height. Napoleon was often described as being short in stature.Napoleon was a workaholic who would sleep for only three or four hours a night.His favourite meal was roast chicken with fried potatoes and onions. Napoleon ate his meals quickly and in silence – a meal rarely lasted longer than twenty minutes.People entering were required to squeeze through a just-adequate opening and then shut the door immediately behind them. Napoleon was said to have had a horror of open doors.Napoleon was said to have had an acute sense of smell.Napoleon was said to have had an intense dislike of cats, but adopted one during his exile on Saint Helena.One reason for this was that they provided him relief from his painful haemorrhoids. Napoleon always insisted on having a fire lit and loved extremely hot baths.As First Consul, Napoleon instituted a number of lasting reforms: centralised administration of government, a higher education system, a central bank, law codes and a road and sewer system, many of which are still in place today.

The right of women to handle money was severely restricted unless they were registered traders. Fathers were given back the right to have wayward children imprisoned.

Under the Code Napoléon, Napoleon restricted the rights gained by women during the Revolution to divorce by mutual consent.

One reason for his extreme actions may have been his desire to support the local textile industry and discourage the wearing of British cloth and fashion.

Napoleon was known to deliberately spoil the women’s clothing of which he did not approve by spilling food or ink on the clothing item to render it unwearable.

As well as displaying the splendour of the Empire, Josephine’s extravagance helped to maintain the fashion and textile industries affected by the Continental Blockade.

Josephine bought up to 900 dresses a year (compared to Marie-Antoinette’s 170) and 1000 pairs of gloves.

The napoleonic code