Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Napoleon II
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Life in Austria=== {{refimprove|section|date=April 2022}} [[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>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)