143 years ago today in 1879, Prince Imperial Napoléon IV, heir to the Bonaparte monarchy is killed during the Anglo-Zulu War.

 143 years ago today in 1879, Prince Imperial Napoléon IV, heir to the Bonaparte monarchy is killed during the Anglo-Zulu War.

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was born in Paris during the Second French Empire. His father Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte was the nephew of Napoléon Bonaparte and seized power in 1852 anointing himself Emperor as Napoléon III. The Second French Empire under his leadership doubled the size of its overseas empire and repaired relations with Great Britain. However in July 1870 Napoléon III would enter into a war with Prussia with no allies and an inferior army. He would be captured in battle and Paris would abandon him declaring the Third Republic of France. The Bonaparte family would go into exile in England where the young Prince Imperial Napoléon IV would receive military training.

 

The young Prince was beloved and popular within political elite circles. He was a serious contender to marry one of Queen Victoria’s daughters, but the Prince first desired to experience military action. After applying great pressure he would get the opportunity to travel to South Africa and assist the British in their ongoing war with the Zulu people. He was attached to the staff of a Colonel in the Royal Engineers but the Prince’s eagerness for action found him volunteering to go along with reconnaissance missions as often as he could. Concerned for his safety, the British assigned personal guards to protect the young reckless Prince.

 

On the morning of June 1st the Prince insisted the reconnaissance mission planned for that day go earlier without full strength. The party dismounted and was resting in an abandoned Zulu village when suddenly 40 Zulu warriors ambushed them. The men escorting the Prince mounted their horses and did not attempt to fight, fleeing for their lives. Napoléon’s horse was spooked and began to run off before he could be fully mounted in the saddle. The Prince held onto a strap as the horse carried him to safety but the strap broke and the horse ran off with his carbine and a sword that belonged to Napoléon I. His right arm was trampled and he pulled out a revolver with his left hand and began to run away, but four Zulu warriors rushed the Prince and one of their assegai was thrown through his leg. The Prince pulled the assegai from his leg and tried to fight with it using his trampled arm while shooting at the oncoming Zulus. He was overwhelmed and killed, and when his body was recovered it had 18 assegai wounds.

 

The Prince’s death sent shockwaves throughout England and France. He was only 23 years old and buried next to his father. His grieving mother made a pilgrimage to the location he was killed. And the best chance for a restoration of the Bonapartist Monarchy had died with him.

 

[Online References]

 

(https://www.historynet.com/the-death-of-a-prince-louis-napoleon-and-the-tragedy-of-the-zulu-war.htm )

 

(https://www.historyandheadlines.com/june-1-1879-the-last-bonaparte/ )

 

(https://www.napoleon.org/en/young-historians/napodoc/napoleon-eugene-louis-jean-joseph-bonaparte-prince-imperial-1856-1879/ )

Artwork by Paul Jamin

Authored by R.E. Foy

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