On March 20, 1934, at the imperial city of Huế, Bảo Đại married Jeanne Marie-Thérèse (Mariette) Nguyen Huu-Hao Thi Lan (1914-1963), who was renamed Hoang Hau Nam Phuong, or "the Southern Empress".
Together, Nam Phuong and had 5 children: Crown Prince Bảo Long born on January 4, 1936, PhuongMai born on August 1, 1937, Phuong Lien born on November 3, 1938, Phuong Dung born on February 5, 1942 and Bảo Thang born on December 9, 1943.
In 1940 (during World War II), coinciding with their ally Germany's invasion of France, the Japanese invaded Indochina.