Louis, Prince Napoléon
| Louis | |
|---|---|
| Prince Napoléon | |
 | |
| Head of the House of Bonaparte (disputed until 1932) | |
| Tenure | 3 May 1926 – 3 May 1997 |
| Predecessor | Victor |
| Successor | Charles or Jean-Christophe |
| Born | 23 January 1914 Brussels,Kingdom of Belgium |
| Died | 3 May 1997(aged 83) Prangins,Vaud,Switzerland |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | Charles, Prince Napoléon Princess Catherine Princess Laure Prince Jérôme |
| House | Bonaparte |
| Father | Victor, Prince Napoléon |
| Mother | Princess Clémentine of Belgium |
Louis, Prince Napoléon(Louis Jérôme Victor Emmanuel Léopold Marie;23 January 1914 – 3 May 1997) was a member of theBonapartedynasty. He was thepretenderto theImperial throne of France,asNapoléon VI,from 3 May 1926 until his death on 3 May 1997.
Early life[edit]
He was born inBrussels,Belgium,due to the law which thenbannedheirs of the former French ruling dynasties from residing in France. He was the son ofVictor, Prince Napoléonand his wifePrincess Clémentine of Belgium,daughter ofKing Leopold II of the BelgiansandArchduchess Marie Henriette of Austria.Leopold II's mother,Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans,was the eldest daughter ofKing Louis Philippe I,ruler ofFranceduring theJuly Monarchy.
As a child, Prince Louis spent some time inEngland,where he stayed withEmpress Eugénie,the widow ofNapoleon III.He was educated inLeuven,Belgium, and inLausanne,Switzerland.When his father died on 3 May 1926, the 12-year-old Prince Louis succeeded as theBonapartistpretender to the Imperial throne of France, his mother acting as regent until he came of age.[1]
Second World War and later life[edit]
On the outbreak of theSecond World War,Prince Louis wrote to the French prime minister,Édouard Daladier,offering to serve in the French Army. His offer was refused, and so he assumed thenom de guerreof "Louis Blanchard" and joined theFrench Foreign Legion,seeing action inNorth Africabefore being demobilised in 1941, following theSecond Armistice at Compiègne.He then joined theFrench Resistanceand was arrested by the Germans after attempting to cross thePyreneeson his way to London to joinFree FrenchleaderCharles de Gaulle.Following his arrest, he spent time in various prisons, includingFresnes.Following his release, he joined the French Resistance groupOrganisation de Résistance dans l'Armeeunder the name "Louis Monnier". Another member of theCharles MartelBrigade to which he belonged was his cousinJoachim, Prince Murat,who was killed in July 1944. Prince Louis himself narrowly escaped death a month later when, on 28 August, he was badly wounded as part of a seven-man patrol that came under attack; he was the sole survivor. Following his recovery, he joined theAlpine Divisionand was later decorated for bravery. After his 2nd cousinJerome Napoleon Charles Bonapartedied in America in 1945, he became the sole living male member of the Bonaparte line.
After the war, he lived in Switzerland and, irregularly, in Paris until 1950, when the law ofbanishmentagainst the heads of France's former ruling dynasties was repealed.
Prince Louis became a successful businessman, with a number of financial interests in Africa. In 1951, the prince sent a memorial wreath bearing the Napoleonic 'N' insignia to the funeral ofWilliam, German Crown Prince,son of the deposedWilhelm II, German Emperor.This was seen as an ironic gesture by royalists at the time, given the fact that it was the GermanHouse of Hohenzollernthat had defeated and dethroned Louis Napoleon's own imperial house during theFranco-Prussian Warin 1870.
Following Prince Louis's death inPrangins,Switzerland, he designated his grandson, PrinceJean-Christophe Napoléon,as his successor, bypassing his elder son, PrinceCharles Napoléon.[2]
Marriage and issue[edit]
Louis marriedAlix de Foresta(born 4 April 1926), daughter of Count Albéricde Foresta,on 16 August 1949 atLinières-Bouton,France. They had four children:[3]
- Prince Charles Marie Jérôme Victor(b. 19 October 1950); claims headship of theHouse of Bonaparteand the title Prince Napoléon.
- Princess Cathérine Elisabeth Albérique Marie (b. 19 October 1950); married, firstly, on 4 June 1974, inPrangins,Switzerland,Nicolò San Martino d'Agliè dei marchesi di Fontaneto con San Germano (nephew of Queen Paola of Belgium, b. 3 July 1948), divorced in 1982 without issue. She married, secondly, on 22 October 1982, inParis,France, Jean-Claude Dualé (b. 3 November 1936 inMedjez-el-Bab,Tunisia) and had two daughters:
- Charlotte Dualé (13 October 1982)
- Marion Dualé (29 March 1985)
- Princess Laure Clémentine Geneviève Bonaparte (b. 8 October 1952 inParis,France); married on 23 December 1982 to Jean-Claude Lecomte (15 March 1948 – Sep 2009) and had one son:
- Clément Louis Lecomte (7 July 1995)
- Prince Jérôme Xavier Marie Joseph Victor (b. 14 January 1957), married on 2 September 2013 to Licia Innocenti.
Decorations[edit]
- Commandeur de laLegion of Honour[4]
- Croix de Guerre1939–1945.
- Médaille de la Résistance
- Médaille commémorative de la Seconde Guerre mondiale
Ancestry[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Milestones, Time Magazine
- ^Battle rages for the Napoleonic succession
- ^Nicolas Enache. La Descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsbourg, Reine de Hongrie et de Bohême. Paris, 1999.ISBN2-908003-04-Xpp. 200, 210
- ^"ORDRE DE LA LEGION d'HONNEUR Décret du 14 avril 1990 portant promotion".
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