Napoleon annulled the marriage, in spite of the existence of a child, and forced Jerome to marry Catharina of Württemberg, making him king of Westphalia.

The couple is even granted a second chance at happiness by Claude Rains' Napoleon.”[2] In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte wants to sell a huge swathe of land (which would become the Louisiana Territory) to the United States for $20 million.

He gives his younger brother Jérôme a choice between a “goodwill” tour of the United States to assist this effort or a mission to visit Princess Catharina of Württemberg, daughter of the King of Württemberg, with marriage in mind.

He meets Elizabeth Patterson, the daughter of a Baltimore banker, and woos her as M. Giroux, a French tutor, without identifying himself to her or her family.

On shipboard, Napoleon confronts Betsy with the importance of an alliance with Württemberg to the fate of France and the idea that Jerome will grow to hate himself if he abandons his duty.