Did General-Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte formally adopt her as a daughter? Her connection to him seems like a rather tenuous one -- four degrees of separation. She was, after all, only a relative of his first wife from her previous marriage. As it was, Empress Joséphine's first husband (Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais) was only a first cousin (not brother) of Stéphanie's father, Claude.
So from her standpoint, Napoléon was her father's first cousin's widow's second cousin -- four degrees of separation -- and hence, no real relation to her. For if it came to that, neither was the empress, since Joséphine was not even an aunt by marriage -- only a cousin (a convenient umbrella term) by marriage. Stéphanie, after all, was Alexandre's first cousin, once removed.
Yet, she evidently called the empress "aunt" and the emperor "uncle." What was the exact legal status of Stéphanie, with respect to the imperial couple?
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