Francis, Duke of Reichstadt, passed away on 22 July 1832. Had history taken a different course, the world might have remembered the event as the death of Napoleon II, Emperor of the French. He was the only legitimate son of Napoleon I Bonaparte, born in 1811 to his second wife, Marie Louise, the eldest daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria.
After the fall of the First French Empire, Marie Louise became Duchess of Parma, while the young prince was brought to Vienna to live among his Habsburg relatives. He was a problematic child—not in behaviour, but in the sense that no one knew what role or future to assign him. At least one attempt was made by Bonapartist supporters to smuggle him back to France to reclaim the throne from the restored Bourbons. Although Francis could scarcely remember his father—whose features he inherited—he held him in great esteem and was fully aware of his lineage and legacy. By contrast, he regarded his weak and idle mother as an unworthy partner to his revered father. Upon learning that Marie Louise had two illegitimate children with Count Neipperg, Francis severed all contact with her.
Over time, he grew increasingly resentful toward his Habsburg relatives, whom he blamed for their lack of support. He saw his life in Austria as a forced exile. Though he showed great interest and aptitude in military affairs, he was kept from all meaningful roles. For security reasons, he was even forbidden to leave Austria.
It is difficult to say what might have become of this half-Bonaparte, half-Habsburg heir, whose very existence remained a source of anxiety for Europe’s rulers. But nature—or fate—spared them any decision: Francis died of tuberculosis at the age of 21.
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