Napoleon II: Emperor for 20 Days

Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:

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Hello and welcome to another episode of Biographics. I’m your host, K.L. Sward, and today we’re talking about Napoleon II, the emperor for 20 days. I should note that, like all of our videos here on Biographics, this one is based on an original article submitted to us by our writing team, specifically Arnaldo Tirani. You can find links to their socials below alongside my own, but let’s get to it.

On December 2nd, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself the emperor of the French, becoming Napoleon I. Years after his downfall, on December 2nd, 1852, his nephew, Louis Napoleon, reinstated the Empire, styling himself as Napoleon II. You may have noticed something slightly amiss here: the great general had a son who theoretically ruled for a handful of days. This young man spent most of his short life trapped in a gilded cage by his father’s enemies. This tragic figure was feared by European rulers and yet is largely overlooked by history. This is the story of the boy who became known as the King of Rome.

The Duke of Reichstadt, as he was known, would be buried as Napoleon II. In 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte divorced his first wife, Josephine, on the grounds that she could not bear him an heir. The emperor needed a clear line of succession, so he remarried to Marie Louise, the daughter of Austrian Emperor Francis I. On March 20th, 1811, Napoleon was delighted to welcome a baby boy, christened Napoleon François Charles Joseph. His birth was announced by the sound of exactly 101 cannon shots, followed by his father’s enthusiastic predictions: “I envy that boy; glory is waiting there for him. I will have been Philip; he will be Alexander. He only has to extend an arm, and the world is his.” Napoleon was, of course, referring to Philip of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great, envisioning a future of conquest and success for his son.

Fittingly, given his father, Napoleon Junior was bestowed with a number of grand titles, such as Prince Imperial and King of Rome. The latter title carried mostly symbolic weight, as it indicated continuity with the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon Junior showed great interest in all things military from a tender age, playing with flags, trumpets, drums, and the wooden blocks used by his father to mark troop movements.

He was an intelligent and precocious toddler who spent much of his time playing with his father. This strong bond was severed on January 24th, 1814, when Napoleon said goodbye to his family to fight the Sixth Coalition in the campaign of France. Father and son would never meet again. On April 4th, a victorious coalition entered Paris, and Napoleon abdicated in favor of his son. The three-year-old King of Rome suddenly became Emperor of the French as Napoleon II. His reign came to an end just two days later when Napoleon redrafted his abdication, excluding his descendants from power.

Then, on the 23rd of April, Napoleon Junior and his mother, Marie Louise, left Paris. The powerful Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Metternich, ensured that mother and child reached Vienna. From then on, the young Napoleon would live at the court of his grandfather, Emperor Francis I, as his father was sent into exile on the island of Elba. The prince was strictly forbidden from ever visiting his father. To further sever his ties with his infamous father, his grandfather and Metternich took to calling him François, later adopting the German translation, Franz, and giving him the title of Duke of Reichstadt to turn him into a proper Austrian aristocrat.

As for his mother, she was installed as the Duchess of Parma, a satellite state of Austria. The role granted her a substantial income but kept her apart from her son. The final move by Grandfather Francis and Prince Metternich to assert control over the boy came in February 1815. Napoleon Senior returned to France and resumed his campaigns, eventually being defeated at Waterloo on June 18th. He abdicated once again in favor of his son. Being only four years old, he was likely more preoccupied with chocolates and toy soldiers and therefore did not grasp that he had become Emperor Napoleon II once again.

We should clarify that only staunch Bonapartists ever recognized young François as a legitimate successor to Napoleon I. At the Congress of Vienna that followed the Napoleonic Wars, the major European powers agreed to void all titles and rights for Napoleon’s descendants. In any case, the contested reign of Napoleon II lasted a grand total of 20 days. On July 8th, the old Bourbon monarchy was restored under King Louis XVIII. Napoleon II became just François again and lived the rest of his life under the watchful eyes of his grandfather and Metternich. They wanted to turn the boy into a dependable, loyal Austrian prince and thus entrusted him to military tutors.

François had a knack for all things military, as you might expect given his lineage. At the age of six, he demanded to wear a soldier’s uniform. While this whim was met, it was decided that an Austrian prince couldn’t hold the rank of a lowly infantryman, so he was given the rank of sergeant instead. At just six years old, he was already a sergeant—not bad!

From then on, Sergeant François Bonaparte would serve on sentry duty outside his grandfather’s room, presenting arms to incoming visitors. By the age of eight, it was clear to his tutors that an army career was the only sensible choice for the boy. One of them, Count Dietrich Stein, wrote to Marie Louise, saying, “The profession of arms is undoubtedly the only one he can embrace.” François completed his elementary school studies in mid-1820, after which he started formal military training under Count Dietrich Stein, Major Weiss, and Captain Foresti. By the age of nine, he was already learning tactics, strategy, and the study of fortifications.

The boy was clearly a natural, matching his thirst for knowledge with exuberant physical prowess. His tutors noted that he excelled at horse riding, swimming, and even wrestling. I find it hard to imagine that anyone went all out against someone with the last name Bonaparte. One day in July of 1821, Captain Foresti pulled the short straw and had to give the boy some bad news: on May 5th, Napoleon Bonaparte had died on the island of St. Helena.

Before dying, the former emperor had expressed one final wish about his son: to never forget that he was a French prince. Despite having barely spent time with him, young François was fascinated by the figure of his father, and for good reason. His tutors did not object to this, as they had not been instructed to teach François to dislike his father. Their official narrative was that Napoleon Bonaparte had been a military and political genius, but his ambition had ultimately brought ruin upon France.

By the age of 12, François was entirely absorbed in the routine of an Austrian prince. In the summer of 1823, he was appointed as an army cadet. The following year, Count Dietrich Stein sent another report to Marie Louise stating, “Once again, he sparkles with wit; his conversation is finesse itself, and the consideration he has for everyone gives him an ease that is far beyond his age.” Other accounts agree that François was becoming a focused, hardworking, yet sociable and popular student, well at ease in both the barracks and the glitzy ballrooms of Vienna. He had all the makings of the planned Austrian aristocrat he was meant to become.

At the age of 15, François was promoted to lieutenant, surely a reason to celebrate. However, around that period, his household staff and tutors first noticed that the young man was prone to colds, fevers, and frequent bouts of coughing. During the summer of 1828, François’ mother visited Vienna, reuniting with her son, who was now a dashing 17-year-old, six-foot-tall captain. Yet, his health did not appear to improve.

The following summer of 1829, Captain François took part in a large-scale military maneuver. Now 18, he asked to be assigned for active service, which his superiors, probably influenced by the emperor, declined on the grounds of his chronic poor health. In his 18th year, François first came across the book “Memorial of St. Helena,” an account of daily conversations between the author and the exiled Napoleon. This revived his interest and admiration for his illustrious father, openly stating, “The principal aim of my life must be to never show myself unworthy of my father.”

In 1830, François bonded with a major, Deprez Aston, who had studied Napoleon’s tactics at Waterloo and publicly praised him in his writings. François likely saw the major as a surrogate father figure, and the major reciprocated the admiration by writing to a friend that the young prince “knows more about the art of war than the cleverest of our generals.” François reassured his new friend that he would always be loyal to Austria and her armed forces but could never fight in a war against France.

In March of that same year, François completed his military studies, and in July, he was promoted to major in the 54th regiment of the Austrian Imperial Army. Another advancement followed in November as he became lieutenant colonel with the 29th regiment. At this rate, François may have become a general in his 20s; however, he lacked one essential component that all generals at the time needed: actual battlefield experience.

Throughout 1830, there could have been many occasions to prove his mettle as Europe was shaken by a wave of violent insurrections and counter-insurrections. For example, in July, the second French Revolution forced King Charles X of Bourbon to abdicate the throne. In August, an uprising in the Netherlands led to the independence of Belgium. In November, a similar yet failed movement swept through Poland, and in all these cases, the rebels invoked the name of Napoleon II as their future leader.

German philosopher Friedrich Hegel commented that the mere thought of Napoleon II being involved in European politics sent shivers down the spines of rulers across the continent. Sure, his father slipped into autocracy, but the name Bonaparte would forever be associated with revolution and anti-revolutionary struggle. Thus, the young Bonaparte would have made for a fantastic figurehead for rebels to rally around. The question is, would François have actually embraced or raised any such cause? It seems that all he ever really wanted was simply to see some action, be it pro or against revolutions.

In February 1831, a string of pro-constitutionalist uprisings broke out in central Italy, targeting the temporal authority of the Pope. Notable rebel leaders included François’ own cousins, Louis Napoleon and Charles Louis Napoleon, the future Napoleon III. When the uprising extended to Parma, threatening the rule of Marie Louise, François demanded to join an Austrian expeditionary force to crush the rebels, which included his own cousin. This would have made for a very interesting confrontation and most likely an awkward family reunion. Emperor Francis, however, stepped in, preventing his grandson from joining the expedition. The young officer was thus confined to garrison duties, and by all accounts, he made for a good officer, but his health continued to decline, dogged by respiratory ailments.

His physician, Dr. Malfatti, initially believed that François might be tormented by recurring pneumonia. It later became clear that the diagnosis was an even worse one: consumption, now known as tuberculosis. Dr. Malfatti lamented that François had “an iron spirit in a body of crystal.” François spent the first three months of 1832 under ordered bed rest. Malfatti and other doctors argued that the young Bonaparte could benefit from living in warmer climates; for example, he could move to Italy and join his mother in Parma. However, this option was vetoed by the powerful Chancellor Metternich.

Later, conspiracy theorists speculated that Metternich had plotted to poison François, whom he considered a potential dangerous enemy. Some argued that Metternich didn’t need to poison him; he simply had to let François die, and sadly, that wouldn’t take long. In May 1832, François received an appointment to Colonel; this would be the last gift he received from his grandfather. Two months later, on July 22nd, Napoleon François Charles Robert Bonaparte, or François, died in Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace at the age of 21. His reported last words were, “One final time, my birth and my death; that is my entire story. Between my cradle and my grave, there lies a big fat zero.”

I hope everybody found this video interesting, educational, and entertaining. I certainly found the script to be all three of those things. If you did enjoy the script, like and follow the writer on social media; the links can be found below. Follow me if you are so inclined and check out my own channels, WikiWeekends and “Fate Them with Kyle Smallwood.” Likewise, go check out Geographics and the top 10 other Biographics videos that I am the interim host of. As always, I would like to wish everybody at home the day that you all deserve.

[Music]

Cheers!

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This version removes any inappropriate or unclear language while maintaining the essence of the original content.