Napoleon III

Introduction & Top Questions
Youth in exile
Claim to the throne
Presidency
Domestic policy as emperor
Foreign policy as emperor
Attempts at reform
Last years

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Portrait of Napoleon III in a dark military uniform with gold epaulettes, a red sash, and medals, set against a deep red background. Painted by Hippolyte Flandrin.

Portrait of Napoleon III seated, wearing a decorated military uniform with medals, sash, and epaulettes, holding a sword, with a crown resting on a cushion beside him.

A boy in a sombrero carries a large Mexican flag at the front of a festive Cinco de Mayo parade, with people in traditional dress and drums following behind him.

At a Glance

Napoleon III summary

Quizzes

Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.

Kings and Emperors (Part III) Quiz

Related Questions

How and where did Napoleon III die in 1873?
How did Eugénie de Montijo influence Napoleon III's foreign policy?
How did France gain Nice and Savoy during Italian unification?
How did Haussmann's new water and sewer systems change Paris?
How did Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte build support before his 1851 coup d’état?
How did Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte win the presidential election of 1848?
How did Napoleon III manage elections to the Corps Législatif?
How did Napoleon III support public works and industrial development in France?
How did Napoleon III try to improve living conditions for French workers?
How did Napoleon III's government help modernize Paris?
How did Prussia's victories over Denmark and Austria weaken Napoleon III's position in Europe?
How did Republicans resist Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's 1851 coup d’état?
How did the Crimean War increase Napoleon III's influence in Europe?
How did the Hohenzollern candidacy for the Spanish throne lead to war between France and Prussia?
How did the Party of Order help Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte become president?
How did the Second Empire's economy grow during the 1850s?
How many people were arrested after the December 1851 coup d’état?
How many votes did Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte receive in the 1848 presidential election?
How was Napoleon III related to Napoleon I?
How was the Second Empire governed during Napoleon III's authoritarian years?
What caused the Franco-German War of 1870?
What changes did Baron Haussmann make to Paris under Napoleon III?
What happened to Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan?
What promises did Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte make to farmers and the middle class during the 1848 election?
What was Napoleon III's role in the Battle of Solferino?
When did Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte become president of the French Second Republic?
When did Napoleon III marry Eugénie de Montijo?
Where did Napoleon III live after he was released from German captivity?
Which groups formed the main support for Napoleon III's Second Empire?
Which groups supported Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in the 1848 presidential election?
Why could Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte not run for a second presidential term in 1852?
Why did Haussmann build wide boulevards through older Paris neighborhoods?
Why did Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte use plebiscites to strengthen his rule?
Why did Napoleon III declare war on Prussia in July 1870?
Why did Napoleon III join the Crimean War?
Why did Napoleon III send French troops to Mexico?
Why did Napoleon III support the construction of the Suez Canal?
Why did the Battle of Sedan cause the fall of the Second Empire?
Why did the French withdraw from Mexico after the American Civil War?
Why did the Napoleonic name help Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte gain support from French voters?
Why was Baron Haussmann criticized for his handling of public money?
Who was Napoleon III?
How did Napoleon III die?
Who was the Marquis de Lafayette?
What role did Lafayette play in the American Revolution?
How did Lafayette contribute to the French Revolution?
What is St. Joan of Arc patron saint of?
What miracles did St. Joan of Arc perform?
What were St. Joan of Arc’s beliefs?
What was the trial of St. Joan of Arc, and how did it lead to her death?
When did Charles de Gaulle become famous?

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External Websites

Chemins de mï¿½moire - Napolï¿½on III
ï¿½lysï¿½e - Chronobiography of Louis-Napolï¿½on Bonaparte
Chï¿½teau de Versailles - Biography of Napoleon III
ABC listen - Nightlife - This Week in History: Napoleon III
Napoleon.org - Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (1808-1873)

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Napoleon III - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Napoleon III

emperor of France

Also known as: Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Louis-Napoléon(Show More)

Written by

Heinrich Gustav Euler

Professor of Modern History, University of Würzburg, Germany. Author of Napoleon III. in seiner Zeit, (vol. 1).

Heinrich Gustav Euler

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 24, 2026 •History

Napoleon III (born April 20, 1808, Paris—died January 9, 1873, Chislehurst, Kent, England) was the nephew of Napoleon I, president of the Second Republic of France (1850–52), and then emperor of the French (1852–70). He gave his country two decades of prosperity under a stable, authoritarian government but finally led it to defeat in the Franco-German War (1870–71). He was the third son of Napoleon I’s brother Louis Bonaparte, who was king of Holland from...

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