by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Napoléon II, Emperor of the French; Credit – Wikipedia

Emperor of the French for only sixteen days in 1815, Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte was born at the Tuileries Palace in Paris on March 20, 1811. At birth, Napoléon II received the titles Prince Imperial and also King of Rome which his father declared was the courtesy title of the heir apparent. He was the only child of Napoléon I, Emperor of the French and his second wife Marie Louise of Austria, eldest child of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Emperor Franz I of Austria), and his first wife Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily. Napoléon I had divorced his childless first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1809 telling her he needed to find another wife who could provide him a son. Regarding Marie Louise, Napoléon I said that he had married a womb. His true love had been his first wife and his last words were, “France, army, head of the army, Joséphine.”

Napoleon II with his mother in 1813; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise Charlotte Françoise de Montesquiou served as Napoléon II’s governess only until 1814 because in that year, the world of Napoléon I started to fall apart. Napoléon I and his son had very little time together. The last time Napoléon I saw his son and his wife Marie Louise was on January 24, 1814, when he kissed them goodbye before going off to war. In the early part of the 19th century, Napoléon I’s quest for power led to the Napoléonic Wars that were fought throughout a large part of Europe. In 1814, Paris was captured by the coalition fighting against Napoléon and his marshals decided to mutiny. He had no choice but to abdicate. The Treaty of Fontainebleau exiled Napoléon to the Mediterranean island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Marie Louise was dissuaded from joining her husband in exile and returned to Vienna, her birthplace, taking up residence with her son at Schönbrunn Palace with her father Franz I, Emperor of Austria. From 1814 until his death, Napoléon II lived in Austria and was known as Franz, the German version of his second name François.

Napoleon II with his Austrian family in 1826 – left to right: Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria; Franz I, Emperor of Austria; Napoleon II of France, Duke of Reichstadt; Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria; Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma; the future Ferdinand I of Austria; and Archduke Franz Karl of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

In February 1815, Napoléon I escaped from his imprisonment on the island of Elba and returned to France but his reign was over when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. He abdicated on June 22, 1815, in favor of his four-year-old son who was in Austria with his mother. Napoléon I was then exiled to the island of Saint Helena, a British possession, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1162 miles/1,870 km from the west coast of Africa. His health declined due to the harsh conditions and by 1821, his health was all but failing. He died on May 5, 1821, at the age of 51, and was buried on the island of St. Helena.

Napoleon II, circa 1818-1819; Credit – Wikipedia

Napoléon II “reigned” until July 8, 1815, when King Louis XVIII of France, the elder of the two surviving brothers of the beheaded King Louis XVI of France, returned to France to resume the throne he had vacated earlier that year due to Napoléon I’s return. Because of the brief but questionable reign of Napoléon II, Louis Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Napoleon III, Emperor of the French using the regnal number “the third” in 1852.

Napoléon II continued to live in Austria where he was granted the title Duke of Reichstadt. He began his military training and studied German, Italian, and mathematics. His official army career began at age twelve when he was made a cadet in the Austrian Army. His tutors described Napoléon II as intelligent, serious, and focused. Napoléon II wanted a military career but the European leaders were concerned that like father, like son, he eventually might try to gain power in France. He was not allowed to play any political role and even his grandfather Emperor Franz I refused to allow him to be part of the Austrian army traveling to Italy to put down a rebellion. In 1831, Napoléon II was given command of an Austrian battalion but he never served in any meaningful capacity.

Engraving of Napoleon II on his deathbed; Credit – Wikipedia

Napoléon II had been dealing with lung problems from a very early age and eventually developed tuberculosis. He died on July 22, 1832, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria at the age of twenty-one. He was buried in the Habsburg tradition of his mother’s family. His body was interred in Kaisergruft  (Imperial Crypt) under the Capuchin Church in Vienna, his heart was placed in the Herzgruft (Heart Vault) of the Habsburgs in the Augustinian Church near the Hofburg Palace in central Vienna and his entrails were placed in the Ducal Crypt in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Forty-one members of the Habsburg family attended Napoléon II’s funeral ceremonies.

In 1940, on the orders of Adolf Hitler, Napoléon II’s sarcophagus was removed from the Imperial Crypt in Vienna and transferred by train to Paris, France. The heart and intestines of Napoléon II remained in Vienna. This transfer was done in memory of the transfer of Napoléon I’s remains from the island of St. Helena to Paris in 1840 by Louis Philippe I, King of the French. Originally, Napoléon II’s sarcophagus was placed beside his father’s tomb in Les Invalides in Paris, France. In 1969, Napoléon II’s sarcophagus was interred in the lower church at Les Invalides.

The sarcophagus of Napoléon II when it arrived in Paris in December 1940; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Napoleon II’s burial place in the lower chapel of Les Invalides; Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Napoleon II. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_II [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Flantzer, S. (2016). Maria Ludovica of Austria, Empress of France. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-ludovica-of-austria-empress-of-france/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Flantzer, S. (2016). Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/napoleon-bonaparte-emperor-of-the-french/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Napoléon II. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napol%C3%A9on_II [Accessed 4 Nov. 2018].