Napoleon II had beenPrince Imperial of France andKing of Rome since birth. After the fall of his father, he lived the rest of his life inVienna and was known in theAustrian court asFranz, Duke of Reichstadt for his adult life (from the German version of his second given name, along with a title his grandfather granted him in 1818). He was posthumously given the nicknameL'Aiglon ("the Eaglet").
When Napoleon I tried toabdicate on 4 April 1814, he said that his son would rule as emperor. However, thecoalition victors refused to acknowledge his son as successor, and Napoleon I was forced to abdicate unconditionally some days later. Although Napoleon II never actually ruled France, he was briefly thetitular Emperor of the French after the second fall of his father. He died oftuberculosis at the age of 21.
Napoleon II was born on 20 March 1811, at theTuileries Palace, the son of EmperorNapoleon I and EmpressMarie Louise. On the same day he underwentondoiement (a traditional French ceremony which is a simple baptism unaccompanied by the usual additional ceremonies) byJoseph Fesch with his full name ofNapoleon François Charles Joseph.[1]The baptism, inspired by the baptismal ceremony ofLouis, Grand Dauphin of France, was held on 9 June 1811 inside ofNotre Dame de Paris.[1]Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, Austrian ambassador to France, wrote of the baptism:
The baptism ceremony was beautiful and impressive; the scene in which the emperor took the infant from the arms of his noble mother and raised him up twice to reveal him to the public [thus breaking from long tradition, as he did when he crowned himself at his coronation] was loudly applauded; in the monarch's manner and face could be seen the great satisfaction that he took from this solemn moment.[1]
As the only legitimate son ofNapoleon I, he was already constitutionally the Prince Imperial andheir apparent, but the Emperor also gave his son the title ofKing of Rome. Three years later, theFirst French Empire collapsed. Napoleon I saw his second wife and their son for the last time on 24 January 1814.[2] On 4 April 1814, he abdicated in favour of his three-year-old son after theSix Days' Campaign and theBattle of Paris. The child becameEmperor of the French under theregnal name ofNapoleon II. However, on 6 April 1814, Napoleon I fully abdicated and renounced not only his own rights to the French throne, but also those of his descendants. TheTreaty of Fontainebleau in 1814 gave the child the right to use the title of Prince of Parma, of Piacenza, and of Guastalla, and his mother was styled theDuchess of Parma, of Piacenza, and of Guastalla.
On 29 March 1814,Marie Louise, accompanied by her entourage, left theTuileries Palace with her son. Their first stop was theChâteau de Rambouillet; then, fearing the advancing enemy troops, they continued on to theChâteau de Blois. On 13 April, with her entourage much diminished, Marie Louise and her three-year-old son were back in Rambouillet, where they met her father, EmperorFrancis I of Austria, and EmperorAlexander I of Russia. On 23 April, escorted by an Austrian regiment, mother and son left Rambouillet and France forever, for their exile in Austria.[3]
In 1815, after hisresurgence and then his defeat atWaterloo,Napoleon I abdicated for the second time in favour of his four-year-old son, whom he had not seen since his exile toElba. The day after Napoleon's abdication, aCommission of Government of five members took the rule of France,[4] pending the return to Paris of theBourbon KingLouis XVIII, who was still inLe Cateau-Cambrésis.[5] The Commission held power for two weeks, but never formally summoned Napoleon II as Emperor or appointed a regent. The entrance of the Allies into Paris on 7 July brought a rapid end to the hopes of supporters of the young Napoleon: instead, he remained in Austria with his mother.
The next Bonaparte to ascend a French imperial throne, in 1852, would be Louis-Napoleon, who took the regnal name Napoleon III. He was the son of Napoleon's brotherLouis Bonaparte, who had been madeKing of Holland by his brother in 1806.
From the spring of 1814 onwards, the young Napoleon lived in Austria and was known as "Franz", a German languagecognate of his second given name, François. In 1818, he was awarded the title ofDuke of Reichstadt by his maternal grandfather, Emperor Francis. He was educated by a staff of military tutors and developed a passion for soldiering, dressing in a miniature uniform like his father's and performing maneuvers in the palace. At the age of 8, it was apparent to his tutors that he had chosen his career.
By 1820, Napoleon had completed his elementary studies and begun his military training, learningGerman,Italian andmathematics as well as receiving advanced physical training. His official army career began at age 12, in 1823, when he was made a cadet in theAustrian Army. Accounts from his tutors describe Napoleon as intelligent, serious, and focused. Additionally, he was very tall, having grown to nearly 1.8 m (6 ft) by the time he was 17.
In 1822, in France, theFour Sergeants of La Rochelle were put to death for attempting to return Napoleon II to the throne, although it is unclear to what extent they were committedBonapartists. There is no evidence that Napoleon II endorsed the attempt at insurrection.
His budding military career gave some concern and fascination to the monarchies of Europe and French leaders over his possible return to France. However, he was allowed to play no political role and instead was used by AustrianChancellorKlemens von Metternich in bargaining with France to gain advantage for Austria. Fearful of anyone in theBonaparte family regaining political power, Metternich even rejected a request for Franz to move to a warmer climate inItaly. He received another rejection when his grandfather refused to allow him to join the army traveling to Italy to put down a rebellion.[6]
Upon the death of his stepfather,Adam Albert von Neipperg, and the revelation that his mother had borne two illegitimate children to Neipperg prior to their marriage, Franz grew distant from his mother and felt that his Austrian family were holding him back to avoid political controversy. He said to his friend,Anton von Prokesch-Osten, "IfJoséphine had been my mother, my father would not have been buried atSaint Helena, and I should not be at Vienna. My mother is kind but weak; she was not the wife my father deserved".[7]
In 1831, Franz was given command of an Austrian battalion, but he never got the chance to serve in any meaningful capacity. In 1832, he caughtpneumonia and was bedridden for several months. His poor health eventually overtook him and on 22 July 1832 Franz died oftuberculosis atSchönbrunn Palace inVienna.[8] He had no children; thus the Napoleonic claim to the throne of France passed to his uncleJoseph Bonaparte and later (through Louis Bonaparte) to Franz's cousinLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who later founded and reigned over theSecond French Empire, styling himself Napoleon III.
Franz's last words were, "My story is my birth and death. Between my cradle and my grave, there is a big zero".
While most of his remains were transferred to Paris in 1940, his heart and intestines remained in Vienna, which is traditional for members of theHabsburg family. His heart is in Urn 42 of theHerzgruft ('Heart Crypt'), and his viscera are in Urn 76 of theDucal Crypt.
The journalistHenri Rochefort joked that Napoleon II, having never really governed, was France's best leader, since he brought no war, taxes or tyranny.[12]
He was noted for his friendship withSophie, a Bavarian princess of theHouse of Wittelsbach.[13] Intelligent, ambitious and strong-willed, Sophie had little in common with her husbandFranz Karl, the brother of Napoleon II's mother, Empress Marie Louise. There were rumors of a love affair between Sophie and Napoleon II, as well as the possibility that Sophie's second son,Maximilian I of Mexico, born in 1832, was the result issue of the affair.
^G. Lenotre,le Château de Rambouillet, six siècles d'histoire, ch.L'empereur, Éditions Denoël, Paris, 1984 (1930 reedition), pp. 126–133,ISBN2-207-23023-6.
^Altman, Gail S. Fatal Links: The Curious Deaths of Beethoven and the Two Napoleons (Paperback). Anubian Press (September 1999).ISBN1-888071-02-8
^Poisson, Georges, (Robert L. Miller, translator),Hitler's Gift to France: The Return of the Ashes of Napoleon II, Enigma Books,ISBN978-1-929631-67-4 (Synopsis & Review by Maria C. Bagshaw).
^Poisson, Georges,Le retour des cendres de l'Aiglon, Édition Nouveau Monde, Paris, 2006,ISBN2847361847 French wags at the time countered Hitler's propaganda by saying "Hitler stole France's coal, but returned to them the ashes." (French)
^Driskel, Paul (1993).As Befits a Legend. Kent State University Press. p. 168ISBN0-87338-484-9
^Leo A. Loubere,Nineteenth-Century Europe: The Revolution of Life, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, p. 154.
1 Actually reigned twice: first from 1814–1815, second from 1815–1824 2 Actually reigned from 1824–1830 3 Reigned in pretense asLouis Philippe II from 1848–1873 4 Briefly restored and then deposed in 1815 5 Actually reigned from 1852–1870 6 Pretense disputed until 1891 7 Pretense currently disputed
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