NAPOLEON II

Lock of hair of napoelon II, he must have been a beautiful child with wonderful blond hair!

Some of my favourite pictures of him:

 About the last picture I have read that it shows Bonaparte Junior with two of his cousins, the little boy shall be Franz Joseph , the later Emperor, and the girl a Maria Anna (so I read)

Who can this girl be? Has anyone got an idea? It´s excluded that it is the sister of Franz Joseph, who died very early, because she was younger than Franz Joseph and this girl here is older than the boy....

Any help would be fine!

I agre with you Britt it cannot be Maria Anne since this little girl is older! I don`t you who seh might be!

He was a very atractive young man no wonder Vienese Woman loved to see him!!!!

And this is a very hearth-breaking picture for me that always moved my mind.

He looks so young and so fresh there, such a pity that I had to die at this age





This is quite famous  and more "religious" one  

It has the title: "Napoleon welcomes his son in Paradise" :-?

This is also quite nice, here he seems to have rather red -blonde hair

He certainly was a nice looking young man.  I wonder if he ended up taller than his father?

Who can this girl be? Has anyone got an idea? It´s excluded that it is the sister of Franz Joseph, who died very early, because she was younger than Franz Joseph and this girl here is older than the boy....

Could these children have been his half-siblings? The little "girl" in question may have actually been a boy, they often dressed little boys like little girls back then.

Edit:  I just looked and his half-siblings were Albertina von Neipperg (b.1817) and Wilhelm (b.1819).  Reichstadt was born in 1811 so these may be the childen in the picture.

Thanks for your contribution.


I originally also thought , the children on the picture with Napoleon´s son, could be his half brother and sister, but it was written that the boy (the youngest) of the children, shall be the later emperor Franz Joseph! And there was also written the girl would be a Maria Anna, and that both shall be Reichstadt´s cousins!
Yes, often boys were maybe dressed as girl, but the older child with the curls really looks like girl to me...
(but I am not sure)

If you compare the dates of the Neipperg children..mmm. maybe, but it cannot really fit, can it?

The youngest of the Neipperg children must have been eight years younger than the young Bonaparte, but for me Reichstadt looks older than eight years older than the smallest child on the picture. The child is really so little and Nap. II looks like a teenage boy to me.

(But everything is speculation from my side, I must confess)

It can also be that you are right.. 8-)


About the size about Napoleon II I am not sure either, but there is a picture of him together with his Austrian relatives ( I can´t find it now) and it seems to me there that he was more slight and taller, different from his father, and more similar to his Habsburg relatives on the picture. But I have never read about his size.

It´s quite funny to me, that many of Bonapartes descendants seem to be quite tall today. Especially todays head of the family, Charles, is said to have 1,96 metres, also his father was similar, this man always looks down on other people...
Also Marie Bonaparte was quite tall for a woman in the Second World War, with 13 she was 1,72 or
even 1. 74 metres, I read in "Celia Bertin".

I think the sizes are also the depending on the time. In ealier times the people did not not become so big, especially not in mediterranean countries.
I have once read that Napoleons size was quite standard at the time (at least there where he came from) If he had been too little (under the standard), she would not have become the permission to enter the miltary schools in his youth...but he became it  

I think you are talking about the so-called "Dreienkelbild" painted by Johann Ender in 1832. It shows Reichstadt and his cousins Franz Joseph and Maria Carolina "Lina" Salerno. Lina was a daughter of Archduchess Marie Clémentine and the favourite granddaughter of Franz II. (Source: Kaiserliche Kindheit by Conte Corti)

Hello Marie Charlotte,

Thank you very much for solving the question

I think, you are right, so the name Maria Anna was wrong and it should have been Maria Carolina.
Yes I already thought a few times that it could be the daughter of Marie Clementine...but the wrong description was confusing

Again thanks for helping. I think we have it like this

I think you are talking about the so-called "Dreienkelbild" painted by Johann Ender in 1832. It shows Reichstadt and his cousins Franz Joseph and Maria Carolina "Lina" Salerno. Lina was a daughter of Archduchess Marie Clémentine and the favourite granddaughter of Franz II. (Source: Kaiserliche Kindheit by Conte Corti)

  the mystery is resolved, it must be Maria Carolina!!! thank you marie Charlotte.


Reichstadt was tall, ho tall I don`t know, but he was very Hasburg in looks. He was very handsome, he had small beautiful hands, Britt thanks for the weonderful portraits!

Have you also read that he was tall or do you only suppose it from the pictures??

For me he looks also quite tall, but I haven´t read it, I must say...It´s only my feeling