Page 183 - Auction84-Book1

Upon his return, Junot married Laure-Adelaide- Constance Permon, a close friend of Napoleon’s family. Napoleon had previously offered to marry her widowed mother, and Napoleon arranged the marriage for Junot. The couple are known
to have led a lavish lifestyle that drove them
into debt despite the wealth Junot received through his military career and the patronage
of Napoleon. Mrs. Junot was particularly noted
for her extravagance and also for her romantic affairs. Their debts became important to the fate of the garniture as noted in the catalog above. Her husband was promoted to a division general in 1801 and placed in charge of Paris until 1803. In 1805, he was presented the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor and served as ambassador to Portugal briefly before returning to serve again
as Napoleon’s aide-de-camp during the War of the Third Coalition. After the French victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, Junot was appointed governor of Parma and Piacenza and soon thereafter made a Commander of the Iron Crown and governor
of Paris. He also had an affair with Caroline, Napoleon’s sister. Around this time, Junot also began to display more erratic and violent behavior that has been attributed to wounds he suffered
in battle, including multiple saber blows at Denzanzano where he reportedly killed
six enemy soldiers.
Among his erratic behaviors was threatening to use his sword against his creditors. Though reproached by Napoleon for his outbursts,
he served as commander-in-chief of the Corps of Observation of the Gironde in 1807 and as commander-in-chief of the army during the invasion of Portugal during the Peninsular War later that year and succeeded in capturing Lisbon after which he was appointed Governor General of Portugal
and made 1st Duke of Abrantes. This may be the most logical time for Napoleon to have presented a set of arms to Junot, though his close connection to Napoleon would certainly have made a presentation at any date after his rise to power reasonable.
Junot’s army was defeated by the forces under General Sir Arthur Wellesley at
the Battle of Vimeiro on August 21 of
the following year, but after signing the Convention of Sintra, he and the army were allowed to return to France, even being transported by the Royal Navy along with their arms and captured loot from their earlier victories. He was placed in command of the Siege of Saragossa where “the Tempest” was again noted for his unstable behavior.
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