Why did Jacques-Louis David include Napoleon’s mother in The Coronation of Napoleon even though she did not attend the ceremony?

In his monumental painting The Coronation of Napoleon, Jacques-Louis David included Letizia Buonaparte, Napoleon’s mother, at the specific direction of Napoleon I.1

Although she is depicted in a prominent position in the main box at the center of the painting, Letizia Buonaparte did not actually attend the ceremony at Notre-Dame Cathedral. She was absent in protest of the strained relations between Napoleon and his brothers.1