Though the nephew of an Emperor and the son of a king, Louis-Napoleon's route to the throne of France was a difficult one. At his birth he was a sickly child and his mother, the Queen Hortense, suffered severe post-natal depression. Napoleon I, however, is supposed to have said that Louis-Napoleon was perhaps the future of the dynasty. And indeed, after the fall of the Empire (and especially after the death of the Aiglon in 1832), Hortense's son began to sense his imperial ‘destiny'. After two failed coups and a spell in prison, Louis-Napoleon finally managed to become the first President of the French Republic, in 1848. And this in turn led to the final coup of 2 December 1852 and the return of the Empire with Louis at its head as a second ‘Napoleon'.
Though the Second Empire and Napoleon III were much denigrated by the Third Republic, today researchers and enthusiasts are rediscovering the successes and failures of that brilliant regime.
Essential Napoleon III
– Detailed genealogy of the Bonaparte family
– Timeline of the life and reign of Napoleon III
– Discover the key places that marked the life of Napoleon III
Books and articles
Second Empire Books
– Essential reading
Recent works on Napoleon III
– PRICE Roger, The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power
– BRESLER Fenton, Napoleon III: A Life
– BLACK Shirley J., Napoleon III and Mexican Silver
– BLACK Shirley J., Louis Napoleon and Strasbourg
– The Second Empire and its downfall: the Correspondence of the Emperor Napoleon III and His Cousin Prince Napoleon
– BAGULEY David, Napoleon III and his regime
– CUNNINGHAM Michele, Mexico and the foreign policy of Napoleon III
– WETZEL David, A duel of giants: Bismarck, Napoleon III and the Origins of the Franco-Prussian War
– Not forgetting Louis Napoleon and the Second Empire by J.M. Thompson, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1955, which can be consulted in our Library.
Texts and articles
– Napoleon III confronted with the Economic crisis of 1857-1858
– The Baptism of the Prince impérial
– Birth of Napoleon III
Special Dossiers and Interviews
Special Dossiers
– The Suez isthmus: the joining of two seas
– The great manoeuvres: a photographic visit to the Second Empire Châlons Camp
Interviews
– Jean-Claude Lachnitt – Imperial passion
In pictures and cinema
From the Second Republic to the débâcle
The Second Empire in pictures
Childhood
– At Malmaison, the empress Josephine receives the emperor Alexander
– Queen Hortense and her two sons, Napoleon-Louis (1804-1832) and Louis-Napoleon (1808-1873)
– Louis-Napoléon: plate (one of a pair) from a service belonging to the Empress Josephine
Napoleon III
– Napoleon III, by Winterhalter
– Marble bust of Napoleon III by Carpeaux
– Visiting card portrait of Napoleon III in military uniform by Lejeune
– Standing portrait of Napoleon III, in the uniform of Brigadier General, in his Grand Cabinet at the Tuileries, by Flandrin
The Emperor in action
– Napoleon III at the Battle of Solferino, 24 June, 1859, by Meissonier
– The emperor Napoleon III visiting the flood victims in Tarascon (June 1856), by Bouguereau
– Visconti presenting his project for the completion of the Louvre to the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress, 1853
– H.M. the Emperor distributing aid to the flood victims of Lyons, by Azergues
The Imperial family
– The Prince impérial on his poney, posing for a photographer
– The Imperial family: Napoleon III, the Empress Eugénieand the Prince Imperial
– The imperial family at Chislehurst
Caricature
– The Imperial Menagerie. Napoleon III The Vulture (Cowardliness – Ferocity)
Cinema: Napoleon III
A world of films dedicated to the Second Empire
Itineraries, Funstuff and What’s On
Itineraries
– Parks and gardens: Parisian strolls of the Second Empire
– Compiègne
Funstuff> Words and Music
– Partant pour la Syrie or Le beau Dunois (music by Queen Hortense, words by Comte Alexandre de Laborde):the Second Empire's «national anthem»
Hear the piece on Youtube
What's On 2008, Napoleon III Year
– 20 April, 2008: a mass will be celebrated at the St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough (UK), in the presence of H.I.H. the Prince Napoléon, the imperial family and many VIPs. The King of Spain and the Queen of England will be represented. The French ambassador in London will represent the French President.
– Starting on 20 April, 2008: Exhibition: Napoleon III, der Kaiser vom Bodensee (The Emperor from Lake Constance), Arenenberg, Switzerland
– 19 and 20 May, 2008: Grand bicentennial international conference, organised by the Fondation Napoléon: Napoleon III, man and politician, Paris, France