By 1809, it was clear to Napoleon that he had a problem: he had no direct heir. Rumors of his death in Spain in 1808 encouraged an embryonic conspiracy in circles around Fouche and Talleyrand, and the hard-fought 1809 campaign actually gave Napoleon his only serious wound in a lifetime of soldiering. The 1808 conspiracy, and it was more of speculation of what to do if Napoleon died, underscored the depth of the Napoleonic succession ended with him. Napoleon's illegitimate children pointed out that his wife Josephine was barren and Napoleon lacked a clear issue. Neither his siblings, nor their children, possessed the pedigree or talents to equal their more illustrious brother. Therefore, Napoleon not only needed, in his words, "a womb," but also a woman whose family pedigree would be equivalent to Napoleon's station. Intermarriage would allegedly set the Bonaparte dynasty on firmer ground if and when Napoleon passed on. Two factions in Napoleon's court emerged, one favoring a marriage alliance with Austria, and another with Russia.

Napoleon favored a match with the Romanovs, with the Tsar's sisters Grand Duchess Anna or Ekaterina Pavlovna being the two candidates. The Tsar's mother, the Empress Dowager Mariia Federovna, was dead-set against any French match for his progeny. Mariia Federovna was at the center of anti-French circles in the imperial court and the idea of marrying a parvenu like Napoleon was deeply shocking. Alexander I was likewise nonplussed by French overtures, but dragged his feet claiming that Anna, the favored sister, was too young and Napoleon should wait.

In the meantime, Austrian envoys were more active in soliciting French interest in a Habsburg marriage. Napoleon correctly realized that Alexander I's hesitation likely meant a refusal, so he withdrew his offer to Russia in 1810 and accepted Austria's proposed match with Marie-Louise. This was a faux pas for Napoleon as it suggested that he was playing a double-game with Russia, playing Russia and Austria against each other.

But as far as "jilted hope", the causes of Franco-Russian enmity ran far deeper than Napoleon's need of a womb. Russia was an ally of France after Tilsit, but the alliance was seldom put into practice. The Russian alliance did little to prevent the 1809 war and Russian evasions of the Continental System underscored that the alliance was almost non-functional. The inability of Napoleon to make a Romanov match only served to remind the Emperor that Russia was not a firm ally. Alexander I toyed with various plans to break the alliance in 1810/11 and invade Central Europe, but was dissuaded by the strength of the French presence in Germany. Issues like the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw, the rendering of much of Germany into French client states were sources of persistent tension in Franco-Russian relations. The failed marriage suit did not help matters, but the Franco-Russian relationship had soured well before Napoleon divorced Josephine.