Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte was the son of
Napoleon I and
Marie Louise of
Austria, born in
1811. He was King of
Rome 1811-
1832, King of Parma
1814-
1818 and from
1818 on had to settle for the title
Duke of
Reichstadt. Although he never reigned as emperor of France, he was
known to the bonapartists as
Napoleon II.
His father had originally abdicated in favor of him but the French
senate did not recognize him as emperor and instead put King Louis
XVIII on the throne. When Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated for the
second time, he again tried to proclaim his son emperor of
France. This action was also refused and from 1815 on, Napoleon II
lived pretty much as a prisoner of Austria. He died there i
tubercolosis in 1832 at the age of 21.
In 1940 his remains were transfered from Vienna back to France as a
gift from Adolf Hitler to be buried beside his father.