Noteworthy wife: Napoleon III chose a Spaniard named Eugénie du Derje de Montijo, age 23, 20th Countess of Teba and 15th Marchioness of Ardales.
“The daughter of the Count of Montijo, she received much of her education in Paris. Her beauty attracted Louis-Napoleon, who tried to seduce her, as was his custom, but Eugénie told him to wait for marriage.”
…
“Though a fervent Catholic and conservative on many other issues, she strongly advocated equality for women. She pressured the Ministry of National Education to give the first baccalaureate diploma to a woman and tried unsuccessfully to induce the Académie française to elect the writer George Sand as its first female member.”
Wikipedia with citations