There was an interesting repeat of history.... in 1870...
Empress Eugenie was living in the Tuileries Palace...
Emperor Louis Napoleon was with his troops.... trying to lift morale against the onslaught of the Prussian army.
The French army faced defeat and Louis was captured.
The fickle Paris mob began to turn against the monarchy...
Fearing for her life ...Eugenie decided she must flee....
She escaped Paris in a horse drawn carriage.... and eventually made it to England and safety.
It was like a later day... flight to Varrens.... only this time with a happy outcome.
Louis and her son eventually joined her there in England and they lived in some style.
Sadly ill health took its toll on Louis Napoleon and he died a couple of years later.
Eugenie's son grew to manhood and joined the British Army.
While serving in South Africa he was ambushed by Zulu warriors and killed.
Eugenie... heartbroken... eventually travelled to South Africa and visited the scene of her sons ambush and killing.
She lived on to a grand old age and lived to see her arch enemies... the Germans... defeated by France and the allies in the first world war.
