Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte
Encyclopedia
Victor, Prince Napoléon, titular 4th Prince of Montfort (Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte; 18 July 1862 – 3 May 1926) was the Bonapartist
pretender to the French throne from 1879 until his death in 1926. He was known as Napoléon V by his supporters.
of Paris during the Second French Empire
the son of the Prince Napoleon
and his wife Princess Marie Clothilde of Savoy, daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
. Two younger siblings would soon follow: Prince Louis (1864–1932) and Princess Maria Letizia
(1866–1926), later the Duchess of Aosta
. At the time of his birth he was third in the line of succession to the throne behind the Prince Imperial and his father. The Empire came to an end in 1870 with the abdication of Emperor Napoléon III
.
at the age of 18 in the will of Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
, who died in 1879, and so became Napoleon V to his supporters, though his younger brother, Prince Louis, a colonel in the Russian Imperial Guard, was preferred to him by many Bonapartists. The decision by the Prince Imperial to bypass Prince Victor's father led to a complete breakdown in relations between father and son. In May, 1886 the French Republic expelled the princes of the former ruling dynasties and so Prince Victor left France for exile in Belgium.
during the Dreyfus affair
, a number of political factions attempted to take advantage of the disorder and Prince Victor announced to a delegation from the Imperialist committee that he would take action to restore the French Empire when he felt that the time was favourable. In order to achieve this, he announced he would place himself at the head of the movement with his brother, Prince Louis, fighting beside him who he said would be "bringing to the Bonapartist forces his prestige and his military talents as well as his rank in the Russian army". The Duke of Orléans, rival claimant to the throne, also had forces available and they were ready to cross the French frontier at same time as the Bonapartist forces. In the end the anticipated outbreak in France didn't materialise and the French Third Republic
survived one of its gravest crises.
with the French author Charles Maurras
commenting on Prince Victor's time as pretender saying that he hadn't offered any new ideas since 1884 and no radical alternatives to republican governments. He was succeeded as the Bonaparte heir by his only son Prince Louis.
, Prince Victor was married to Princess Clémentine of Belgium
(1872–1955), daughter of Leopold II of Belgium
and Marie Henriette of Austria
. They had two children:
Bonapartist
In French political history, Bonapartism has two meanings. In a strict sense, this term refers to people who aimed to restore the French Empire under the House of Bonaparte, the Corsican family of Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Louis...
pretender to the French throne from 1879 until his death in 1926. He was known as Napoléon V by his supporters.
Early life
He was born in the Palais RoyalPalais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
of Paris during the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
the son of the Prince Napoleon
Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte
Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, Prince Français, Count of Meudon, Count of Moncalieri ad personam, titular 3rd Prince of Montfort was the second son of Jérôme Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, by his wife Catherine, princess of Württemberg...
and his wife Princess Marie Clothilde of Savoy, daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
. Two younger siblings would soon follow: Prince Louis (1864–1932) and Princess Maria Letizia
Maria Letizia Bonaparte
Maria Letizia Bonaparte was one of three children born to Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. She married Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta, the former king of Spain in 1888. Maria Letizia became the Duchess of Aosta, a title of Amadeus' he held before and after his kingship...
(1866–1926), later the Duchess of Aosta
Duchess of Aosta
-Duchess of Aosta:...
. At the time of his birth he was third in the line of succession to the throne behind the Prince Imperial and his father. The Empire came to an end in 1870 with the abdication of Emperor Napoléon III
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
.
Bonaparte heir
He was appointed head of the house of BonaparteBonaparte
The House of Bonaparte is an imperial and royal European dynasty founded by Napoleon I of France in 1804, a French military leader who rose to notability out of the French Revolution and transformed the French Republic into the First French Empire within five years of his coup d'état...
at the age of 18 in the will of Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
Napoléon, Prince Imperial, , Prince Imperial, Fils de France, was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo...
, who died in 1879, and so became Napoleon V to his supporters, though his younger brother, Prince Louis, a colonel in the Russian Imperial Guard, was preferred to him by many Bonapartists. The decision by the Prince Imperial to bypass Prince Victor's father led to a complete breakdown in relations between father and son. In May, 1886 the French Republic expelled the princes of the former ruling dynasties and so Prince Victor left France for exile in Belgium.
Dreyfus affair
At the time of the death of President Félix FaureFélix Faure
Félix François Faure was President of France from 1895 until his death.-Biography:Félix François Faure was born in Paris, the son of a small furniture maker...
during the Dreyfus affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
, a number of political factions attempted to take advantage of the disorder and Prince Victor announced to a delegation from the Imperialist committee that he would take action to restore the French Empire when he felt that the time was favourable. In order to achieve this, he announced he would place himself at the head of the movement with his brother, Prince Louis, fighting beside him who he said would be "bringing to the Bonapartist forces his prestige and his military talents as well as his rank in the Russian army". The Duke of Orléans, rival claimant to the throne, also had forces available and they were ready to cross the French frontier at same time as the Bonapartist forces. In the end the anticipated outbreak in France didn't materialise and the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
survived one of its gravest crises.
Death
Prince Victor died on 3 May 1926 in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
with the French author Charles Maurras
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras was a French author, poet, and critic. He was a leader and principal thinker of Action Française, a political movement that was monarchist, anti-parliamentarist, and counter-revolutionary. Maurras' ideas greatly influenced National Catholicism and "nationalisme...
commenting on Prince Victor's time as pretender saying that he hadn't offered any new ideas since 1884 and no radical alternatives to republican governments. He was succeeded as the Bonaparte heir by his only son Prince Louis.
Family
On 10 November/14 November 1910, at MoncalieriMoncalieri
Moncalieri is a town and comune of approximately 58,000 inhabitants about eight kilometers directly south of downtown Turin , in Piedmont, Italy. It is notable for its castle, built in the 12th century and enlarged in the 15th century, which later became the favorite residence of Maria Clotilde...
, Prince Victor was married to Princess Clémentine of Belgium
Princess Clementine of Belgium
align="right"|Clementine of Belgium was a member of the Belgian Royal Family and the wife of Napoléon Victor Bonaparte, Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France.-Early life:Princess Clémentine was born at the Royal Castle of Laeken in...
(1872–1955), daughter of Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
and Marie Henriette of Austria
Marie Henriette of Austria
Marie Henriette of Austria was the queen consort of King Leopold II of Belgium.-Family:...
. They had two children:
- Princess Marie Clotilde Eugénie Alberte Laetitia Généviève BonaparteMarie Clotilde BonapartePrincess Marie Clotilde Eugénie Alberte Laetitia Généviève Bonaparte was born March 20, 1912, in Brussels, Belgium and died April 14, 1996, at the Château de la Pommerie in Cendrieux, France...
(1912–1996) married Serge de Witt - Prince Louis Napoléon (1914–1997)