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

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

Autograph letter signed « Louis-Napoléon » to Charles Duperré
[Chislehurst], n.d. [9 Jan. 1873], 1 p. on bifolio in-8°, in black ink
Letterhead paper from the imperial family’s residence in exile: Camden Place, Chislehurst
Watermark: ‘Cansell’
Fold marks from the original mailing, small ink offsetting/transfer at the signature

Touching letter from the Prince Imperial announcing the death of his father, Emperor Napoleon III, or the spiritual legacy of a fallen Empire

« Mon cher Monsieur Duperré
L’Empereur n’est plus !
il a passé de la terre au ciel le sourire sur les lèvres, voilà un martyre de moins ici-bas et un saint de plus au ciel !
Votre affectionné et malheureux ami
Louis-Napoléon »

Suffering from a kidney stone for several years, Napoleon III saw his condition worsen in the autumn of 1872. Two bladder operations were performed on 2 and 6 January 1873 by Sir Henry Thompson, considered the finest English specialist. A third procedure, planned for a few days later, would ultimately never take place. The Emperor died of septicemia on the morning of 9 January 1873 at 10:45 a.m., after a terrible agony.

This letter from the Prince Imperial was necessarily written on the very day of the Emperor’s death. Beyond its explicit content, it may well be the very last letter the Prince Imperial signed with his compound name “Louis-Napoléon.” Indeed, from the moment of his father’s death until his own tragic death in southern Africa seven years later, he would systematically sign his letters with the single name “Napoléon,” thereby taking up the overwhelming patronym of his great-uncle.

Originally a naval officer, Charles Duperré (1832–1914) became an ordnance officer to Napoleon III in 1863, then aide-de-camp to the Prince Imperial from 1867. A member of the imperial family’s closest circle of trust, it was to him that the Emperor entrusted the task of escorting the Prince to England in the aftermath of the defeat at Sedan. Duperré did not regain a naval command until 1872, before being promoted to rear admiral in 1878.