[PRINCE IMPERIAL] H. Marres

[PRINCE IMPERIAL] H. Marres

Photomontage on period albumen print
N.p.n.d, cabinet format (10 x 13,5 cm)
10 x 13.5 cm print, laminated on cardboard (10.8 x 16.5 cm) and credited to the photographer

Extremely rare photomontage depicting the killing of the Prince Imperial by the Zulus, in southern Africa

The Prince Imperial appears lying on the ground, surrounded by Zulu warriors and put to death by them.

At the beginning of 1879, and after having insistently requested its incorporation into the British troops in southern Africa, the Prince Imperial finally won his case. During a reconnaissance mission on June 1, 1879, after a stop at the edge of a river where his patrol believed it was safe, the latter was surprised by Zulu warriors. A gunfight broke out and two British soldiers lost their lives. The troop fled on horseback. The prince tries to get back to his mount by running. The saddle strap, which was used by his father at the Battle of Sedan and which the prince insisted on using, was out of order and gave way under his weight. He then falls violently. His right arm is trampled on. His weapon is a pistol, which he can only handle with his left hand. He succumbs pierced by seventeen iklwa strokes. The warriors eviscerated and mutilated the bodies of the two soldiers who died at the beginning of the attack but spared that of the prince, the only man to have fought. They just undress him and take his weapons. The leader of the warriors ordered that he be left with his gold chain, on which hung two medals and a carnelian stamp in memory of his grandmother, Queen Hortense, passed down from her father. Zulu warriors, who wear amulets around their necks, respect those of the prince. As a tribute, they return his personal belongings and uniform.

This photomontage seems unpublished, we have not found any publications in the bibliography dedicated to the Prince Imperial and his family.