Top 10 Interesting Facts about Napoleon II

Napoleon I of France with his son Napoleon II. Photo by Alexandre Vincent Sixdeniers. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Napoleon II

Napoleon Bonaparte is revered as a brilliant military tactician and a hugely influential statesman, and his status as one of history’s great leaders is undeniable — even if it sometimes appears that he is more famous for his diminutive stature.

Surprisingly, given the zeal with which he went on to lead the French Empire, Napoleon identified more readily as a Corsican and fought zealously for Corsican independence in his early career.

After a squabble with Corsican resistance leader Pasquale Paoli, Napoleon moved to France and began to establish himself as the new republic’s rising star, masterminding a string of crucial military victories, including the resistance-breaking Siege of Toulon and the defeat of 20,000 royalists in Paris in 1785.

Napoleon’s rise to the top of the government was meteoric, propelled by numerous battlefield victories in Italy and then Egypt, and he was regarded as a natural leader by republican politicians. He seized power in France and became first consul in 1799, quickly establishing himself as a hugely popular leader by ensuring continued military dominance and instituting influential legal reforms.

These legal reforms, enshrined in the Napoleonic Code, solidified the Revolution’s goals by replacing the outdated inconsistencies of feudal legislation. Napoleon even succeeded in bringing about peace by defeating Austria and, for a time, putting a stop to Britain’s efforts to oppose the French military. His unstoppable rise to power culminated with his coronation as Emperor of France in 1804.

1. He penned a romance novel

Behind the ruthless, battle-hardened exterior, Napoleon was a softie, as evidenced by his embarrassingly soppy love letters and a recently discovered romantic novella. Clisson et Eugénie, written in 1795, when Napoleon was 26, is a brief (17-page) exercise in sentimental self-mythologizing that, according to most reviews, fails to establish him as a lost literary genius.

2. Josephine Bonaparte, his first wife, narrowly escaped the guillotine

Napoleon’s first wife, Josephine, had previously been married to Alexandre de Beauharnais (with whom she had three children), an aristocrat who was executed during the Reign of Terror. Josephine was imprisoned and sentenced to death before being released five days later when the architect of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre, was guillotined.

3. Napoleon II would cloak himself and walk the streets

Napoleon developed the habit of dressing up as a lower-class bourgeoisie and wandering the streets of Paris at the height of his power. His apparent goal was to find out what the average person thought of him, and he reportedly quizzed random passers-by about their Emperor’s merits.

4. Napoleon II was tone-deaf

Napoleon II. Photo by Carl von Sales. Wikimedia Commons

Napoleon’s penchant for singing (or humming and mumbling) whenever he became agitated was apparently one of his least endearing habits. Unfortunately, harrowing accounts indicate that his singing voice was decidedly unmusical.

5. Napoleon II was terrified of cats

Russian blue cat wearing yellow sunglasses. Photo by Raoul Droog. Unsplash

Surprisingly, a slew of historical tyrants, including Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Mussolini, Hitler, and our own Napoleon, are said to have suffered from Ailurophobia, or cat fear. However, there is little evidence to support the widely held belief that Napoleon was terrified of cats, despite the fact that it has become such a well-worn rumor. It is even claimed that his alleged fear was triggered by a wildcat attack when he was a baby.

6. Napoleon II identified the Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone. Photo by Matteo Vistocco. Unsplash

The Rosetta Stone, which is now housed in the British Museum in London, is a granite slab carved in three scripts: hieroglyphic Egyptian, demotic Egyptian, and ancient Greek. It was crucial in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs and has long been regarded as a priceless artifact. It was discovered by Napoleon’s soldiers during the Egyptian campaign in 1799, which is less well known.

7. He wore poison around his neck

Lodewijk Napoleon van Randwijck. Photo by Jean Louis Henri Bron. Wikimedia Commons

It is said that Napoleon carried a vial of poison attached to a cord around his neck, which he could quickly down if he was ever captured. Apparently, he did eventually consume the poison after his exile to Elba in 1814, but its potency had diminished by then, and it only succeeded in making him violently ill.

8. To rescue him from exile on Saint Helena, a submarine escape plot was devised

Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic 1,200 miles from the nearest land, following his defeat at Waterloo. Escape from such a solitary confinement was thought to be nearly impossible. Despite this, numerous plans to rescue the exiled Emperor were devised, including an audacious scheme involving two early submarines and a mechanical chair.

9. The cause of Napoleon II’s death is unknown

Napoleon died on the island of Saint Helena, aged 51, after a long and painful illness. However, the cause of his illness has never been determined conclusively, and his death remains shrouded in conspiracy theories and speculation. The official cause of death was listed as stomach cancer, but some suspect foul play. Indeed, hair samples show a far higher than normal concentration of arsenic, lending credence to claims that he was poisoned. Although it is also claimed that arsenic was present in his bedroom wallpaper.

Adolf Hitler ordered the transfer of Napoleon II’s remains from Vienna to the dome of Les Invalides in Paris on December 15, 1940. During the July Monarchy, the remains of Napoleon I were returned to France in December 1840. [11] In December 1969, Napoleon II’s remains were relocated underground to the cella of Napoleon’s tomb.

While the majority of his remains were transferred to Paris in 1940, his heart and intestines remained in Vienna, as is customary for Habsburg family members. His heart is in the Herzgruft’s Urn 42, and his viscera are in the Ducal Crypt’s Urn 76.

10. He popularized the bicorne hat

A child wearing a bicorne hat. Photo by Imgorthand. Unsplash

Another example of propaganda was Napoleon’s famous bicorne hat. Originally designed for officers to wear from front to back, Napoleon began wearing it sideways to show solidarity with more junior soldiers who wore it diagonally.
Admiral Horatio Nelson, his English adversary, also wore a bicorne hat.