Compiègne, Présentation du Prince Impérial
Olympe Aguado de las Marismas French
Not on view
On March 16, 1856, Empress Eugénie gave birth to a male heir, Napoléon Eugène, known as the prince imperial, thus ensuring the continuation of the imperial bloodline. At a series of events that autumn at the palace of Compiègne, the prince imperial was presented to members of the court. Olympe Aguado, a talented amateur photographer and founding member of the French Photographic Society, was among the aristocratic guests invited from October 27 to November 2 and was enlisted as the unofficial recorder of the event.
The hope for a dynasty would, however, not be fulfilled. Napoleon III died in exile in 1873, and the prince imperial-despite being proclaimed Napoleon IV by Bonapartists-never ruled. The only child of Napoleon and Eugénie died at the age of twenty-three, fighting for the British in the Zulu Wars.
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