L'aiglon: Napoléon Deux

André Castelot

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Résumé

Napoléon II (3/20/1811–7/22/1832), after 1818 known as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt, was the son of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, & his 2nd wife, Marie Louise of Austria. By Title III, article 9 of the French Constitution of the time, he was Prince Imperial, but he was also known from birth as the King of Rome which Napoleon I declared was the courtesy title of the heir-apparent. He was widely known in France as "the Eaglet". When his father abdicated on 4/4/1814, he named his son Emperor, but the coalition partners that had defeated Napoleon refused to acknowledge his son as successor, so he was forced to abdicate unconditionally a week later. Altho he never actually ruled France, he was the titular Emperor & he's still generally referred to by historians as Napoleon II.