The Son of the Emperor

With the war with Prussia and the Germanic League over, Emperor Napoleon II and his administration could continue to focus on the improvements of the empire through more peaceful means. Before work could begin in earnest, a celebration had to be held for King Jerome’s successful war against the Kingdom of Naples. A magnificent celebration was held in Rome on March 18th, 1850. In attendance was Emperor Napoleon II, Empress Sophie, Princess Marie Louise, Prince Philippe, Prince Joseph along with King Jerome, Prince Paul (Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte, second son of Jerome), along with many prominent officials throughout Europe that sought to align themselves with the House of Bonaparte. One such notable official was a delegation lead by Prince Oscar II of Sweden.

The rapprochement with Sweden had come in recent years. One event that seemed to make Sweden approach France for an understanding was the relationship Paris and Saint Petersburg had developed over the previous years. Though Oscar II’s grandfather – King Charles XIV John (formerly Marshal Jean Bernadotte) had a falling out with the House of Bonaparte in 1810 – did not feel the need to realign himself with his former country, wiser heads came to power. An increased relation between the two countries was spurred by the death of King Charles XIV John on March 8th 1844. Rumors were rampant in Paris that a royal marriage was in the works between Prince Oscar II (born January 21st 1829) and Princess Marie Louise (born July 14th, 1832).


After the celebration in Rome that lasted a week, Emperor Napoleon II and his family, along with Prince Oscar II’s delegation traveled to Paris. A grand celebration was held on the 15th of April for the return of the Imperial Guard in the city. The press is to said to have put the estimate of the crowd at well over a hundred thousand people. A day before the celebration, the National Assembly had approved an aggressive plan to modernize and increase the strength of the army. Years of war throughout Europe had made it crystal clear that France would need at least another hundred thousand soldier’s minimum in order to wage war. France’s supply of citizens willing to become soldiers was not in short supply, but her factories and training grounds would be incapable of handling such a massive influx of soldiers over such a brief time.

To assist with the increase in the size of the army, state funds were designated for a multitude of projects. First and foremost was the construction and improvement of railroads within the recently annexed land. The Germanic nations were quite underdeveloped in the sense of railroads. Though the protests of from the press were numerous, and some supportive, a simple fact remained: in order to wage war, France would need to be capable of delivering its troops to the front lines within a timely manner, and the frontline would not be the border of France proper, but rather her German territory. Secondly, the improvement of the current existing factories within the industrial portions of France, including the retooling of several factories located within the Rhineland.

France was just beginning its biggest challenge yet.


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In late June of 1850 an official arrangement had been made that would closer bind France and the Kingdom Sweden closer together. On July 15th, the day after her eighteenth birthday Princess Marie Louise, the eldest descendent of the Emperor Napoleon II left the palace of Versailles with a royal convoy. Following the Princess was another convoy with another royal treasure, Prince Oscar II of Sweden. Both packages were on the way to Brest, where a delegation of frigates awaited to escort the Princess and Prince back to Stockholm. The date for a wedding had been arranged to take place in early December.

Before Napoleon II could depart for Stockholm to be a part of the ceremonies to celebrate the increased relations between the two nations, other matters had to be attended too. One of the more important situations was the United States; which had just ended its war with Mexico on July 8th, 1850. A bloody war had been fought between the two nations, though in the end the more triumphant United States prevailed. Though the war was hard fought, the Americans demand for compensation was lackluster and only gaining the remaining portions of Texas. In a sad ending to the war, the President Zachary Taylor died in office on July 9th.

The death of Taylor shocked the nation, as several papers claimed he had been assassinated by a citizen who was distraught by his moderate views of slavery – and his unwillingness to confront the institution before it spread even further. The “assassination” occurred on July 4th, when it is said, according to one eye witness that he saw a man slipping arsenic into the president’s iced drink that day. It took hardened President several days to succumb to his illness; after which his doctors described cause of death as gastroenteritis (stomach flu). The doctors mentioned this illness was caused by the consumption of cherries and iced milk that had been contaminated by flies – which were common throughout the swampy capitol during the summer. The prominent New York Herald doubted the doctor’s assertion, as no other person gathered at the Independence Day celebration fell ill.

The death of Taylor, who held a strong relationship and respect for the House of Bonaparte and the French military, was to have a profound affect on the beloved nation. Though the affect of Taylor’s death would not be felt immediately, another event would have profound repercussions throughout Europe. On November 28th, the governments Sweden and Denmark agreed to come to an understanding and reforged the long-dead “Kalmar Union” that united the countries from 1397 to 1523. What brought about the talks was a meeting of Swedish and Danish university students at Scania – though the organization was heavily policed by the authorities until 1844. In 1844, with when King Oscar 1 (father of Oscar II, which Princes Marie Louise is to marry) assumed the throne the Pan-Scandinavianism movement received official support.

After years of negotiation between the House of Oldenburg (Denmark) and the House of Bernadette (Sweden), a declaration was announced on November 8th that the two countries would merge into the Kingdom of Scandinavia. At the head of this new kingdom would be King Oscar I. The Napoleonic administration was shocked. With little effort on its part, it had suddenly had a powerful friend, and non-Bonaparte ruled ally within the European continent. Though how long this alliance would last was questionable as two of France’s major rivals, England and Russia were now attempting to sway the new kingdom’s opinion.



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