Napoleon IV, more properly known as the Prince Imperial Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, was the only child of the previous Emperor of the French, Napoleon III, and his wife Empress Eugenie. But this last Napoleon would never rise to become Emperor of the French.
His father Napoleon was dethroned in 1870 and took his family including the later Napoleon IV to England, who had become a friendly power in the decades since Waterloo. In 1873, a contingent in France claimed the son of Napoleon III as Napoleon IV.
He would be the last of a line that began with Napoleon Bonaparte almost a century before.
A Regal Beginning
Napoleon was born in Paris at the Tuileries Palace in 1856. He was baptized at Notre Dame in June with his Godfather Pope Pius IX present through his representative, Cardinal Patrizi. His Godmother was Eugene de Beauharnais’ daughter, the Queen of Sweden.
Napoleon’s education was a little disjointed, however. He began under the historian and academic Francis Monnier, but this lasted only a short while. From 1867, General Frossard supervised the young Napoleon’s education alongside Augustin Filon, a French professor of rhetoric. Additionally, he was taught by a Miss Shaw, who came recommended by the British monarch Queen Victoria herself.
At the age of 14, Napoleon bore witness to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. He accompanied his father to the front line as a sub-lieutenant, and it was noted that he was present during the battle of Saarbrucken during one of the opening engagements of the war.
However, when the war began to turn against the French, Napoleon was sent to the border of Belgium for safety. It was not long before more correspondence came and ordered Napoleon to cross into Belgium where he would be met by his father and the rest of his family to travel to England.
Napoleon III was dethroned in 1870 as the war began to turn against him and the Prussians began to make gains. He and his family settled in England at Camden Place in Kent.
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Whilst here, the future Napoleon IV attended lectures in physics at King’s College London and was accepted into the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich where he was trained as a soldier. He was not bad at it either, finishing 7th in his class of 34 and top of his class in fencing and riding. After this, he served with the Royal Artillery at Aldershot.
During Napoleon’s time in England, there were rumors circulated that he would marry Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice. It was reported that Victoria hoped this would create a feeling of peace in Europe should Napoleon IV become the Emperor of France.
During this time, Napoleon remained a devoted Catholic and hoped that his supporters in France would overturn the Republic that had been established since the dethronement of his father. He was rewarded with this faith and in 1873, Napoleon IV was supported as a candidate for Emperor of France. However, he was never formally crowned. Instead, he spent much of his time in boredom.
Zulu War
The outbreak of the Anglo-Zulu War. Napoleon saw his opportunity to put his extensive training into practice. He petitioned the British government and monarchy to allow him to travel to Africa and aid in the war.
This was met with many objections. Some of these came from the British Government, in particular Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who foresaw that there would be terrible repercussions should the prince die in combat for the British Nation. However, his wife and her friend, Queen Victoria, allowed Napoleon to join the army with the rank of Lieutenant.
The French Royalists were not happy about this. They hoped to bring him back to France and restore his rule rather than serving as a British Army Officer. To circumvent this, Napoleon was granted the rank of Private Spectator and only allowed to be dressed in a plain uniform without Insignia. The hope was that this would satisfy the thirst for adventure and allow Napoleon to experience soldier life.
Napoleon left England on 27th February. When he arrived in South Africa, he was placed under General Lord Chelmsford. Chelmsford was in the process of setting up his battle plans and he sent Louis and Lieutenant Carey to assist Richard Harrison, Quartermaster-General, to scout ahead for a route to invade Zululand for the second time.
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The scouts were assisted by the cavalry of Colonel Redvers Buller and on 13th May, Napoleon soon found himself in enemy territory. He carried with him the sword of his great uncle, the original Napoleon Bonaparte, and was recorded as being noticeably excited. Atop his horse, Percy, Napoleon broke ranks and charged the Zulus. Fortunately, he was restrained by Buller before he came to harm.
Later that evening, Buller reported to Chelmsford about Napoleon’s irresponsible and reckless behavior. Napoleon was given a strong escort and ordered not to leave camp.
However, this did little to rectify his voracious appetite for adventure. On another patrol just days later, Napoleon chased a lone Zulu before being ordered to return. Napoleon was furious asking if he would ever be “without a nurse”.
Death
It would not be long before Napoleon got his wish. Just days after the previous incident, Napoleon persuaded Chelmsford to allow him to accompany another scouting mission. Whilst at camp, Napoleon and his forces were ambushed by a Zulu force.
Some soldiers were able to mount their horses and flee, however, Napoleon’s horse Percy was startled whilst he was being mounted and so dragged Napoleon off by the saddle holster. For over 100 yards (90 m), Napoleon was dragged across the ground and suffered injuries.
When he finally freed himself, the Zulu forces had already closed in. It did not take long before the Zulus had dispatched Napoleon, little did they know they had just confirmed the British Prime Minister’s greatest fears of losing the emperor-elect of France serving in the British Army.
Napoleon’s body had been ritually cut open by the Zulus and so was covered and transported back to England to be reunited with his wife. The funeral was attended by 40,000 people including Queen Victoria, but Empress Eugenie was too traumatized to appear.
They had granted his wish for adventure and the consequences of those actions were plain to see.
Top Image: The death of Napoleon IV, ambushed and surrounded by Zulus. Source: Paul Joseph Jamin / Public Domain.
By Kurt Readman
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