Louis, Prince Napoléon
| Louis | |
|---|---|
| Prince Napoléon | |
| Head of the House of Bonaparte | |
| Period | 3 May 1926 – 3 May 1997 |
| Predecessor | Napoléon V |
| Successor |
Napoléon VII Napoléon VIII |
| Born |
23 January 1914 Brussels, Belgium |
| Died | 3 May 1997 (aged 83) Prangins, Switzerland |
| Spouse | Alix de Foresta |
| Issue |
Charles, Prince Napoléon Princess Catherine Princess Laure Prince Jérôme |
| House | Bonaparte |
| Father | Victor, Prince Napoléon |
| Mother | Princess Clémentine of Belgium |
Louis, Prince Napoléon, (Louis Jérôme Victor Emmanuel Léopold Marie; 23 January 1914 – 3 May 1997) as Napoleon VI was the pretender to the Imperial throne of France of the Bonaparte dynasty from 1926 until his death.
He was born in Brussels, Belgium, due to the law which then banned heirs of the former French ruling dynasties from residing in France. He was the son of Victor, Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Clémentine of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians and Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria. Leopold II's mother, Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans, was the eldest daughter of King Louis Philippe I, ruler of France during the July Monarchy.
As a child, Prince Louis spent some time in England, where he stayed with Empress Eugénie, the widow of Napoleon III. He was educated in Leuven, Belgium and in Lausanne, Switzerland. When his father died on 3 May 1926, the 12-year-old Prince Louis succeeded as the Bonapartist pretender to the Imperial throne of France, his mother acting as regent until he came of age.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, Prince Louis wrote to the French prime minister, Édouard Daladier, offering to serve in the French Army. His offer was refused, and so he assumed the nom de guerre of Louis Blanchard and joined the French Foreign Legion, seeing action in North Africa before being demobilised in 1941 following the Second Armistice at Compiègne. He then joined the French Resistance and was arrested by the Germans after attempting to cross the Pyrenees on his way to London to join Free French leader Charles de Gaulle. Following his arrest, he spent time in various prisons, including Fresnes. Following his release, he joined the French Resistance group Organisation de Résistance dans l'Armee under the name Louis Monnier. Another member of the Charles Martel Brigade to which he belonged was his cousin Joachim, Prince Murat, who was killed in July 1944. Prince Louis himself narrowly escaped death a month later when, on 28 August, he was badly wounded as part of a seven-man patrol that came under attack; he was the sole survivor. Following his recovery, he joined the Alpine Division and was later decorated for bravery.
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