During the overhaul of the Emperor's Household in 1809, Napoleon had decided that, unlike the Empress Joséphine, Marie-Louise would not have appointed chamberlains; the latter had to be chosen and designated for service from those on the general list.

However, it seems that only around thirty were regularly retained among the officers of the ancient nobility such, among the most illustrious, MM. of Contades, of Mun, of Praslin, of Andlau, of Kergariou, of Montguyon, of Lillers and Henri de Montesquiou, of Nicolaï, of Marmier, the Count of Noailles, of Brancas, of Gontaut, of Rambuteau, of Lostanges, of Miramon, de Louvois, de Montholon, de Songis de Pange, de Montaigu, de La Vieuville, de Turenne, de Brancas, de Gontaut, de Sainte-Aulaire, de Grammont-Caderousse, de Montalembert, du Saillant de Lur-Saluces, de Croix, d'Haussonville, de Chabot, de Fitz-Jalmes, de Beauvau, de la Briffe, de Chabrillan, de Las Cases and de Vaugrenand, with Béarn, d'Aubusson, d'Angosse, de Barol. Four chamberlains were appointed daily to the Empress; they ensured the service of the Chamber, controlled the access of subjects to His Majesty and their presentations through a very strict and regularly enriched protocol. Prominent figures of the Imperial Court, the chamberlains wore a scarlet coat with silver facings acquired at their own expense, on which they displayed the insignia of their function, a key hanging on the right pocket; the key of the Empress's chamberlains was distinguished from that of ordinary officers by the intertwined initials “ML” and its knot of blue ribbons with borders. These keys made on the same model and provided by Maison Biennais, master goldsmith of the Emperor, were offered and distributed to each applicant during his swearing-in to Napoleon.

Bibliography

- Frédéric Masson. Empress Marie-Louise. 1809-1815. Paris, 1902.

- Elodie Lefort. Art. The Chamberlain's Keys. Napoleon Foundation, August 2021