What if you were destined to do great things, but fate had something else in store for you? Such was the life of Louis-Napoleon, Prince Imperial…

Lost in history, this story – filled with aspirations, the desire to prove oneself, and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds – brings the life of Louis-Napoleon, the great-nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and the son of Emperor Napoleon III, back into the limelight.

In this book, you will discover:

• A historically-accurate retelling of the life of the Last Napoleon – a fascinating account of promise tangled with fate, forgotten in time,
• How Napoleon III’s family started a new life of exile in Camden Place, Chislehurst, UK, after the disastrous impact of the Franco-Prussian war
• The young prince’s military education in the UK that was all part of the plans thrust on him to achieve greatness and fulfil his destiny,
• The intertangled relationship with Queen Victoria, including marriage plans with the British Royal family,
• The lure into Bonapartist politics of France that sought to use this young man’s famous name.
• His own ambitions to prove his military credentials which led to pressure for him to deploy, as a young French prince, with the British Army to the Anglo-Zulu war in South Africa.

Finally, the story recounts in detail the fateful last patrol, and its deadly consequences. It includes the detailed accounts of the Zulu warriors involved. Some of these accounts were brought to light by research well after the fact. They attest to the bravery of this young man, massively outnumbered, who by Zulu accounts “Fought like a lion’ in a short savage engagement that could only have one outcome.

This book is a must-have for anyone interested in 19th-century European history, especially the French Imperial family and the Napoleon legacy.