Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor Napoleon III
Who was he?
Wikipedia:
Napoleon III (20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873), also known as
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, né Charles Louis
Napoléon Bonaparte, was the President of the French Second
Republic and the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was also the
nephew of Napoleon I. Made President by popular vote in 1848, he
undertook a coup d'état in 1851, becoming dictator before
ascending to the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1851, the
forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon I's coronation. He ruled as
Emperor of the French until September 1870, when he was captured during
the Franco-Prussian War. He holds the unusual distinction of being both
the first titular president and the last monarch of France.
Why was he in Bath?
After his capture he was deposed and retired to England with his wife
and family. He often visited Bath and stayed at either the Sydney Hotel
(now the Holburne Museum) - six weeks in 1846 - or at 55, Great
Pulteney Street (after 1871 according to
Forsyth,
not as indicated in the plaque):
The text reads
"Prince Louise Napoleon Napoleon III.
Stayed here 1846. B. 1808 d. 1873"
Location map of 55, Great
Pulteney Street:
(c) 2011
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