orig. Eugénia María de Montijo de Guzmán
born May 5, 1826, Granada, Spain
died July 11, 1920, Madrid
Wife of Napoleon III and empress of France (1853–70).
Daughter of a Spanish noble, she married Napoleon III in 1853 and came to have an important influence on her husband's foreign policy. As a devoted Roman Catholic, she favored a strong papacy and supported Ultramontane causes. She also encouraged French opposition to a Prussian candidate for the Spanish throne in the controversy that precipitated the Franco-Prussian War. After the French defeat at Sedan, she joined her family in exile in England.