rock the boat. 1. Lit. to do something to move a boat from side to side, causing it to rock. (Often in a negative sense.) Sit down and stop rocking the boat.
The Bumpy Coronation of Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. A victorious general who had become leader of France through a coup dâÃ©tat, Napoleon wanted to establish the legitimacy of his regime.
In the case of Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation, when Pope Pius VII was about to place the crown on his head Napoleon took it from him and placed it on his own head. This implies that he did not rule under Papal authority but rather by his own right.