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Prince Imperial

Louis-Napoléon
Prince Imperial of France
Prince Impérial, 1878, Londres, BNF Gallica.jpg
Napoléon at age 22, 1878
Head of the House of Bonaparte
Period 9 January 1873 – 1 June 1879
Predecessor Napoleon III
Successor Napoleon V
Born (1856-03-16)16 March 1856
Paris, French Empire
Died 1 June 1879(1879-06-01) (aged 23)
Zulu Kingdom (present-day KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
Burial Imperial Crypt, St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough
Full name
Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph
House Bonaparte
Father Napoleon III
Mother Eugénie de Montijo
Religion Roman Catholicism
Full name
Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph
Styles of
Napoléon, Prince Imperial
Coat of Arms Second French Empire (1852–1870)-2.svg
Reference style His Imperial Highness
Spoken style Your Imperial Highness
Alternative style Sir

Napoléon, Prince Imperial (full name: Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, prince impérial de France; 16 March 1856 – 1 June 1879) was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo. After his father was dethroned in 1870, he relocated with his family to England. On his father's death in January 1873, he was proclaimed Napoleon IV, Emperor of the French by the Bonapartist faction.

In England he trained as a soldier. Keen to see action, he successfully put pressure on the British to allow him to participate in the Anglo-Zulu War. In 1879, serving with British forces, he was killed in a skirmish with a group of Zulus. His early death sent shockwaves throughout Europe, as he was the last serious dynastic hope for the restoration of the Bonapartes to the throne of France.

Born in Paris, he was baptized on 14 June 1856, at Notre Dame Cathedral. His godfather was Pope Pius IX, whose representative, Cardinal Patrizi, officiated. His godmother was Queen Victoria, represented by Eugène de Beauharnais's daughter, Josephine, the Queen of Sweden.

His education, after a false start under the academic historian Francis Monnier, was, from 1867, supervised by General Frossard as governor, assisted by Augustin Filon, as tutor. His English nurse, Miss Shaw, who was recommended by Queen Victoria and taught the prince English from an early age; his valet, Xavier Uhlmann; and his inseparable friend Louis Conneau () also figured importantly in his life. The young prince was known by the nickname "Loulou" in his family circle.


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