PRINCE IMPÉRIAL, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1856-1879)

PRINCE IMPÉRIAL, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1856-1879)

Autograph letter signed « Louis-Napoléon » to Édouard Frémy
Camden Place, 16th March 1872, 1 p. 1/2 petit in-8°
Usual fold marks

Nice letter from exile from the Prince Imperial, in gratitude for a book offered by its correspondent on the occasion of his sixteenth birthday

« Mon cher Monsieur Frémy,
Je suis profondément reconnaissant du cadeau si utile et si beau que vous venez de me faire, et l’affectueuse intention qui a présidé à cet aimable don, m’a vivement touché. Croyez que c’est avec émotion que je relirai ces pages, qui comme vous le dites si bien, sont faites pour nous consoler, et nous faire espérer en un meilleur avenir.
C’est le cœur rempli d’une vive gratitude, que je vous prie d’agréer l’expression sincère de mes sentiments affectueux.
Louis-Napoléon »

Historian and former diplomat, Édouard Frémy (1843-1904) remained a loyal member of the imperial family. Although we do not know which book the Prince imperial refers to, there is little doubt that it is in honor of the Second Empire.
The year 1872 was one of relative tranquillity for the Prince Imperial. He was admitted to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich on 17 November, after passing the entrance examination (27th out of 30) with his friend Louis Conneau. He was destined for the artillery, a weapon in which his great-uncle had started. His military career was launched.