Napoleon II of France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Napoléon II
Emperor of the French
King of Rome
Duke of Reichstadt
Reign 22 June-7 July 1815
Coronation 22 June 1815
Full name Napoléon François Joseph Chaparron Bonaparte
Titles King of Rome
Born 20 March 1811(1811-03-20)
Birthplace Paris, France
Died 22 July 1832 (aged 21)
Place of death Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
Predecessor Napoleon I
Successor De Facto Louis XVIII
De Jure Joseph Bonaparte
Royal House Bonaparte
Father Napoleon I of France
Mother Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma

Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, Duke of Reichstadt (March 20, 1811July 22, 1832) was the son of Napoleon Bonaparte and his second wife, Marie Louise of Austria. Known from birth as the King of Rome, he was styled as His Majesty the King of Rome, which Napoleon I declared was the courtesy title of the heir-apparent. He was briefly the second Emperor of the French.

Three years after his birth in Paris, the First French Empire — to which he was heir — collapsed, and Napoleon abdicated the throne in favour of his infant son, who was taken by the empress to Château de Blois in April 1814. In 1815, after his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon again abdicated in favour of his son whom he had not seen since his exile to Elba.

The Chamber of Representatives and Chamber of Peers recognized him as Emperor from the moment of his father's abdication (June 22, 1815), but the entrance of the Allies into Paris on July 7 brought a rapid end to his regime. The next Bonaparte to come to the throne of France (in 1851) took the name Napoleon III in deference to his cousin's mostly theoretical reign.

After 1815, the young prince, now known as "Franz," after his maternal grandfather, rather than as "Napoleon," was a virtual captive in Austria. He was awarded the title of Duke of Reichstadt in 1818. He died of tuberculosis at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna on July 22, 1832. Upon the death of his stepfather, Neipperg, and the revelation that his mother had borne two illegitimate children to him prior to their marriage, Franz said to his friend, Prokesch von Osten, "If Josephine had been my mother, my father would not have been buried at Saint Helena, and I should not be at Vienna. My mother is kind but weak; she was not the wife my father deserved".[1]

It has been suggested[2] that his death was the result of deliberate lead or arsenic poisoning at the hands of agents of Metternich's police state.

He was very close to Princess Sophie of Bavaria and it has been further suggested that he was the father to her son, the future ill-fated Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.[3]

In 1940, the remains of Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte were transferred from Vienna to the dome of Les Invalides in Paris. This was done as a gift to France from German dictator Adolf Hitler. The remains of Napoleon I were moved there in 1840. For some time, the young prince rested beside his father.

Later the remains of Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte were moved to the lower church. While most of his remains were transferred to Paris, his heart and intestines remained in Vienna. They are in Urn 42 in the "Heart Crypt" (Herzgruft) and his viscera are in Urn 76 of the Ducal Crypt.

Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, Emperor of France, the King of Rome, and Duke of Reichstadt
Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, Emperor of France, the King of Rome, and Duke of Reichstadt

Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte was also known as "The Eaglet" (L'Aiglon). Edmond Rostand wrote a play, L'Aiglon, about his life. Serbian composer Petar Stojanović composed an operetta "Napoleon II: Herzog von Reichstadt", which premiered in Vienna in the 1920s.

[edit] Publications

  • Welschinger, Le roi de Rome, 1811-32, (Paris, 1897)
  • Wertheimer, The Duke of Reichstadt, (London, 1905)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Markham, Felix, Napoleon, p.249
  2. ^ Altman, Gail S. Fatal Links: The Curious Deaths of Beethoven and the Two Napoleons (Paperback). Anubian Press (September 1999). ISBN 1-888071-02-8
  3. ^ Maximilian and Carlota by Gene Smith, ISBN-10: 0245524185, ISBN-13: 978-0245524189

[edit] Ancestry

French Monarchy -
Bonaparte Dynasty

Napoleon I
Children
   Napoleon II
Siblings
   Napoleone
   Maria Anna
   Joseph, King of Spain
   Lucien, Prince of Canino
   Elisa, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
   Louis, King of Holland
   Pauline, Princess of Guastalla
   Caroline, Queen of Naples
   Jérôme, King of Westphalia
Nephews and nieces
   Princess Julie
   Princess Zénaïde
   Princess Charlotte
   Prince Charles
   Prince Louis
   Prince Pierre
   Prince Napoleon Charles
   Prince Napoleon Louis
   Napoleon III
   Prince Jérôme
   Prince Napoleon Joseph
   Princess Mathilde
Grandnephews and -nieces
   Prince Joseph
   Prince Lucien-Louis
   Prince Roland
   Princess Jeanne
   Prince Charles
   Prince Jerome
   Napoleon (V) Victor
Great Grandnephews and -nieces
   Princess Marie
   Princess Marie Clotilde
   Napoleon (VI) Louis
Great Great Grandnephews and -nieces
   Napoleon (VII) Charles
   Princess Catherine
   Princess Laure
   Prince Jerome
Great Great Great Grandnephews and -nieces
   Princess Caroline
   Prince Jean-Christophe
Napoleon II
Napoleon III
Children
   Napoleon (IV), Prince Imperial
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Sebastiano Nicolo Buonaparte
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Giuseppe Maria Buonaparte
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Maria-Anna Tusilo di Bocognano
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Carlo Buonaparte
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Maria-Saveria Paravicini
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Napoleon I of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Giovanni Geronimo Ramolino
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Letizia Ramolino
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Angela Maria Pietrasanta
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Napoleon II of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Maria Theresa of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Charles III of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Maria Louisa of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Maria Amalia of Saxony
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Marie Louise of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Charles III of Spain (= 26)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Maria Amalia of Saxony (= 27)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 24)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Marie Caroline of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Maria Theresa of Austria (= 25)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Napoleon II of France
Born: 20 March 1811 Died: 22 July 1832
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Napoleon I
Emperor of the French
22 June7 July 1815
Succeeded by
Louis XVIII
as King of France and Navarre
Titles in pretence
Loss of title
— TITULAR —
Emperor of the French
7 July 181522 July 1832
Succeeded by
Joseph Bonaparte