Figure 1.--This is Eugène Napoléon, Prince Impérial. The portrait was made in 1864, he was 8-9 years old Eugénie was delighted with his birth.

Prince Eugene Louis Jean Joseph led a colorful, but short and ultinmately tragic life. He was born with the proverbial silver spoon. In the year 1856, 101 canon blasts announced the birth of the Imperial Prince, Eugene, ensuring the continuation of the Emperor's dynasty. He was brought up surrounded by Napoleonic legend. I have no details yet on his childhood, including how he was dressed. One thing is clear, he probably rarely had to saddle his own horse. Eugene was Napoleon III's and the Empress Eugenie's only son. After his father's fall from power, Eugene was proclaimed Napapoleon IV by his father's adherents. He applied for permission to join British forces in Zululand and was permitted in 1879 to go as a guest of the British Army. While on a reconnoitering party they were surprised by the Zulus. The British mounted and retired. The girth on Eugene's, however, saddle broke. He was seized by the Zulus and killed.

Parents

Prence Eugene was a Bonaparte, one of the most famous families in Europe. His father was Louis Bonaparte, the nephew of the Napoleon III. He was a great nephew of Napoleon I. Louis Napoleon is generally seen as largely incompetent who rise to power primarily on the family name. His mother was Impératrice Eugénie de Montijo (1826- ), the daughter of a Spanish count with liberal predelections. She was deeply Catholic and wa notable for working extensively with charity institutions aiding poor children.

The Heir

Eugene Louis Jean Joseph (1856-79) was born with the proverbial silver spoon. In the year 1856, 101 canon blasts announced the birth of the Imperial Prince, Eugene, ensuring the continuation of the Emperor's dynasty. He was brought up surrounded by Napoleonic legend. I have no details yet on his childhood, including how he was dressed. One thing is clear, he probably rarely had to saddle his own horse--a skill that would take on considerable importance in his life. Eugene was Napoleon III's and the Empress Eugenie's only son. He was known as the Prince Imperial and took the title Count of Pierrefonds. I have no information, however, about the relationship between the Emperess and her son. I believe that it was close. She and Queen Victoria after the fall of the Second Empire, conspired to insure that the British Army, against the Army and the Prime Minister's wishes, accepted Eugene as an observer in South Africa--a fatefull decission.

Clothing

I have virtually no information on the Prince's boyhood clothes. The only insight at this time is a photograph taken about 1859 with the prince wearing a white dress. The short sleeved dress has ribbons on the shoulders. It is interesting to note how common white dresses appear to have been for boys in old photographs. HBRC assumes that this was likely to have been in part due to the fact that the children were dressed up in their best dress for formal photographs. Surely they did not wear white dresses for every day. We notice him wearing a fairly sandard dark cut-away jacket when he was about 8-9 years old wth a small bowtie (1864) (figure 1). We also notice him wearing a French Army uniform as a boy. He looks to be about 10-11 years old. We are not sure under what circumstnces he would ear it, perhaps for state occassions.

Hair

The Prince Imperial wore relatibdely short hair. I'm not sure if his curls have been cut or that he never grew long hair. Portraits from the 1860s show him wearing his hair down to his wears. This was a popular length at the time. He had rather curly hair hair with a slightly off center center part.

Exile and Death

After his father's fall from power, the imperial family was given refuge by the British. This was somewhat tricky. Victoria and Albert had exchanged visits while Napoleon III was in power. The Bonapartes were still, however, never fully accepted by European royals. The British were also not quite sure about the new French republic. And the Germans had not yet alienated Britain's long traditinal ties. Eugene was proclaimed Napapoleon IV by his father's adherents. He applied for permission to join British forces in Zululand and was permitted in 1879 to go as a guest of the British Army. While on a reconnoitering party they were surprised by the Zulus. The British mounted and retired. The girth on Eugene's saddle, however, broke. He was seized by the Zulus and killed.

Created: 10:19 PM 12/6/2007
Last updated: 11:24 PM 3/1/2008