Editing Napoleon II (section)

==Biography==
[[File:François Pascal Simon Gérard 004b.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Empress Marie Louise]] and her son Napoleon, King of Rome, by [[François Gérard]], 1813]]

===Birth===
Napoleon II was born on 20 March 1811, at the [[Tuileries Palace]], the son of Emperor [[Napoleon I]] and Empress [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie Louise]]. On the same day he underwent ''ondoiement'' (a traditional French ceremony which is a simple baptism unaccompanied by the usual additional ceremonies) by [[Joseph Fesch]] with his full name of ''Napoleon François Charles Joseph''.<ref name="napoleon">{{cite web | url=http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/biographies/files/478853.asp | title=Napoleon II: King of Rome, French Emperor, Prince of Parma, Duke of Reichstadt | publisher=napoleon.org | work=The Napoleon Foundation | date=March 2011 | access-date=8 March 2012}}</ref>
The baptism, inspired by the baptismal ceremony of [[Louis, Grand Dauphin]] of France, was held on 9 June 1811 in [[Notre Dame de Paris]].<ref name="napoleon" /> [[Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg]], Austrian ambassador to France, wrote of the baptism:
{{quote|The baptism ceremony was beautiful and impressive; the scene in which the emperor took the infant from the arms of his noble mother and raised him up twice to reveal him to the public [thus breaking from long tradition, as he did when he crowned himself at his coronation] was loudly applauded; in the monarch's manner and face could be seen the great satisfaction that he took from this solemn moment.<ref name="napoleon" />}}

He was put in the care of [[Louise Charlotte Françoise de Montesquiou]], a descendant of [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois]], who was named [[Governess of the Children of France]]. Affectionate and intelligent, the governess assembled a considerable collection of books intended to give the infant a strong grounding in religion, philosophy, and military matters.<ref name="napoleon" />

===Succession rights===
As the only legitimate son of Napoleon I, he was already constitutionally the Prince Imperial and [[heir apparent]], but the Emperor also gave his son the title of [[King of the Romans#First French Empire|King of Rome]]. Three years later, the [[First French Empire]] collapsed. Napoleon I saw his second wife and their son for the last time on 24 January 1814.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.fr/The-First-Empire?lang=en |title=Château de Fontainebleau |publisher=Musee-chateau-fontainebleau.fr |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=2012-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618074733/http://musee-chateau-fontainebleau.fr/The-First-Empire?lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 4 April 1814, he abdicated in favour of his three-year-old son after the [[Six Days' Campaign]] and the [[Battle of Paris (1814)|Battle of Paris.]] The child became [[Emperor of the French]] under the [[regnal name]] of '''Napoleon II'''. However, on 6 April 1814, Napoleon I fully abdicated and renounced not only his own rights to the French throne, but also those of his descendants. The [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]] in 1814 gave the child the right to use the title of Prince of Parma, of Piacenza, and of Guastalla, and his mother was styled the [[Duchy of Parma|Duchess of Parma, of Piacenza, and of Guastalla]].

===Reign===
On 29 March 1814, Marie Louise, accompanied by her entourage, left the [[Tuileries Palace]] with her son. Their first stop was the [[Château de Rambouillet]]; then, fearing the advancing enemy troops, they continued on to the [[Château de Blois]]. On 13 April, with her entourage much diminished, Marie Louise and her three-year-old son were back in Rambouillet, where they met her father, Emperor [[Francis I of Austria]], and Emperor [[Alexander I of Russia]]. On 23 April, escorted by an Austrian regiment, mother and son left Rambouillet and France forever, for their exile in Austria.<ref>G. Lenotre, ''le Château de Rambouillet, six siècles d'histoire'', ch. ''L'empereur'', Éditions Denoël, Paris, 1984 (1930 reedition), pp. 126–133, {{ISBN|2-207-23023-6}}.</ref>

In 1815, after his [[Hundred Days|resurgence]] and his defeat at [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]], [[Abdication of Napoleon, 1815|Napoleon I abdicated for the second time]] in favour of his four-year-old son, whom he had not seen since his exile to [[Elba]]. The day after Napoleon's abdication, a [[French Provisional Government of 1815|Commission of Government]] of five members took the rule of France,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k486114j.pleinepage.f281.langFR |title=(N.275.) Arrete par lequel la Commission du Gouvernement se constitue sous la présidence M. le Duc d'Otrante |work=Bulletin des lois de la République française |page=279 |date=23 June 1815|language=fr}}</ref> awaiting the return of the Bourbon King [[Louis XVIII]], who was in [[Le Cateau-Cambrésis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k486117p.pleinepage.f31.langFR |title=(N. 1.) Proclamation du Roi |work=Bulletin des lois de la République française |page=1 |date=25 June 1815|language=fr}}</ref> The Commission held power for two weeks, but never formally summoned Napoleon II as Emperor or appointed a regent. The entrance of the Allies into Paris on 7 July brought a rapid end to his supporters' wishes. Napoleon II was residing in Austria with his mother.

The next Bonaparte to ascend the throne of France, in 1852, would be Louis-Napoleon, the son of Napoleon's brother [[Louis Bonaparte|Louis I, King of Holland]]. He took the [[regnal name]] of [[Napoleon III]].

===Life in Austria===
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[[File:Portrait of Napoleon II by Thomas Lawrence (1818–1819).jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Napoleon II]]'' by [[Thomas Lawrence]], 1819]]
From the spring of 1814 onwards, the young Napoleon lived in Austria and was known as "Franz", a German language [[cognate]] of his second given name, François. In 1818, he was awarded the title of [[Zákupy#Duke of Reichstadt|Duke of Reichstadt]] by his maternal grandfather, Emperor Francis. He was educated by a staff of military tutors and developed a passion for soldiering, dressing in a miniature uniform like his father's and performing maneuvers in the palace. At the age of 8, it was apparent to his tutors that he had chosen his career.

By 1820, Napoleon had completed his elementary studies and begun his military training, learning [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[mathematics]] as well as receiving advanced physical training. His official army career began at age 12, in 1823, when he was made a cadet in the [[Imperial Austrian Army (1806–1867)|Austrian Army]]. Accounts from his tutors describe Napoleon as intelligent, serious, and focused. Additionally, he was very tall, having grown to nearly 6 feet (1.8m) by the time he was 17.

In 1822 the [[Four Sergeants of La Rochelle]] were put to death for attempting to return Napoleon II to the throne, although it is unclear to what extent they were committed [[Bonapartists]]. There is no evidence that Napoleon II endorsed the insurrection.

His budding military career gave some concern and fascination to the monarchies of Europe and French leaders over his possible return to France. However, he was allowed to play no political role and instead was used by Austrian [[State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire|Chancellor]] [[Klemens von Metternich]] in bargaining with France to gain advantage for Austria. Fearful of anyone in the Bonaparte family regaining political power, Metternich even rejected a request for Franz to move to a warmer climate in [[Italy]]. He received another rejection when his grandfather refused to allow him to join the army traveling to Italy to put down a rebellion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/napoleon-ii-21272987#life-in-austria|title=''Napoleon II Biography''|access-date=2014-09-22|archive-date=2015-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918012548/http://www.biography.com/people/napoleon-ii-21272987#life-in-austria|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Upon the death of his stepfather, [[Adam Albert von Neipperg]], and the revelation that his mother had borne two illegitimate children to Neipperg prior to their marriage, Franz grew distant from his mother and felt that his Austrian family were holding him back to avoid political controversy. He said to his friend, [[Anton von Prokesch-Osten]], "If [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Joséphine]] had been my mother, my father would not have been buried at [[Saint Helena]], and I should not be at Vienna. My mother is kind but weak; she was not the wife my father deserved".<ref>Markham, Felix, ''Napoleon'', p. 249</ref>