Imperial prince tailcoat

Clothes for Men

Inventory number
2019.4.29.6.CM.CT.C1870.GB
Description
Black dress coat of figured black wool with white linen and black silk lining. Ancient property of Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph BONAPARTE, Prince Imperial (16 March 1856 – 1 June 1879).

Also known as Louis-Napoléon BONAPARTE, he was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III and his wife, Eugénie de MONTIJO. After his father was dethroned in 1870, he relocated with his family to England. On his father's death in January 1873, he was proclaimed by the Bonapartist faction as Napoleon IV, Emperor of the French. In England, he trained as a soldier. Keen to see action, he successfully put pressure on the British to allow him to participate in the Anglo-Zulu War. In 1879, serving with British forces, he was killed in a skirmish with a group of Zulus. His early death sent shockwaves throughout Europe, as he was the last serious dynastic hope for the restoration of the House of Bonaparte to the throne of France.
Materials
Wool
Silk
Linen
Origin
circa 1870 United Kingdom