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Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 1811 – 22 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria. Napoleon II had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome since birth.
The brief reign of Napoleon II. On 4 April, 1814, after the Six Days campaign and the coalition’s capture of Paris, the French emperor abdicated in favour of his son. Aged just three, the Roi de Rome, became French emperor and ruled France for a couple of days as Napoleon II.
The victors, fearing that Napoleon II had inherited his father's military ambitions, were determined to prevent another Bonaparte imperial project. Napoleon II's reign as Emperor is dated from June 22 until July 7, 1815.
Napoléon II was born in Paris in 1811. In 1814, Napoleon I was defeated during the War of the Sixth Coalition and then forced to resign by his own officers. Napoleon I originally wanted Napoleon II to succeed him, but that was rejected by the coalition.
Learn about the life and fate of Napoleon's only legitimate child, who was born in 1811 and died in 1832. Discover how Napoleon cherished and fussed over his son, and how he tried to make him his successor in France.
Napoleon's marriage to Marie Louise produced one child, Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles (Napoleon II) (1811–1832), known from birth as the King of Rome. When Napoleon abdicated in 1815 he named his son his successor as "Napoleon II", but the allies refused to recognize him.
Napoleon II, also known as the "King of Rome," was the son of Napoleon Bonaparte and his second wife, Marie Louise of Austria. He was given the title of King of Rome at birth and was considered the heir to the French Empire.
