Question about Napoleon Bonaparte.....see below

Question

According to the law of succession Napoleon I had made when he was Emperor, the claim passed first to his son, the Duke of Reichstadt, known by Bonapartists as Napoleon II, a sickly youth living under virtual imprisonment at the court of Vienna, then to his eldest brother Joseph Bonaparte, then to Louis Bonaparte and his sons.

Now, why is it that Napoleon skipped over the brother Lucien Bonaparte, who was born in between he and Louis in terms of his succession?

It seems all the more odd since, I'm sure Napoleon favored male heirs, and Lucien had three sons, while big brother Joseph only had daughters. I don't get it

Answer 1

After Napoleon became first consul they began to drift apart, mostly because Lucien was very republican and opposed many of Napoleon ideas. The relationship became worse when Napoleon wanted him to divorce his wife and marry into the aristocracy, so Lucien left the empire and tried to go to America. On the way to America he was intercepted by the British and taken to England where he was allowed to live comfortably. Because Lucien was residing in England (Napoleon's main rival) he viewed Lucien's actions as treacherous and had his name taken off the succession.