NAPOLEON III. - Lot 48

Lot 48
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600 - 800 EUR
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Result : 773EUR
NAPOLEON III. - Lot 48
NAPOLEON III. Autograph note signed in the text "l'empereur Napoléon". February 27, 1872. Journalistic brief, probably intended for a Bonapartist periodical. 3 pp. on 2 ff. in-8 with printed letterhead at Camden Place address in Chislehurst joined by a thin strip of grey percaline. THE EMPEROR RELATES ON HIS VISIT TO THE BRITISH SOVEREIGN THIS DAY: "The ceremony of thanksgiving for the restoration of the Prince of Wales took place today in very fine weather. The English newspapers give full details of the ceremony, but our attention is drawn above all to the ovation which the Emperor Napoleon, the Empress Eugenie and the Imperial P[rin]ce received on this occasion. Their Majesties having wished to testify to the Queen the part they were taking in an event which rejoices the whole nation in which they find such generous hospitality, Her Britannic Majesty has invited her guests from Chislehurst to come to Buckingham Palace a little before the departure of the royal procession. Consequently, the Emperor, the Empress and the Imperial Prince, accompanied by the Duke of Bassano, Count [D]avillier and Madame Lebreton [Napoleon Maret, former Grand Chamberlain to Napoleon III; Edmond Davillier-Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély, son-in-law of Marshal Auguste Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély, who authorized him to add his name to his own, former orderly and First Squire to Napoleon III; and Adélaïde Le Breton, sister of General Bourbaki and reader to Empress Eugénie] arrived at Charing Cross station at 11am. Two Court carriages were waiting for them. As soon as they boarded, the immense crowd occupying the station and the adjacent street caused the air to resound with the most sympathetic shouts. The carriages followed Pall Mall, St-James, amidst two hedges of soldiers presenting arms, and everywhere the crowds received the exiled nobles with the enthusiastic demonstrations the English know how to make them. Arriving at the palace, the Duke of Edinburgh and the P[rin]ce Arthur [Duke of Connaught, one of Queen Victoria's sons] led the Emperor and Empress to the apartment reserved for them, where they were joined some time later by the Queen and the P[rin]ce and Princess of Wales, before boarding the carriage. AS THE CORTEGE SET OFF, CHISLEHURST'S GUESTS STOOD AT THE PALACE WINDOW ON A BALCONY, WHERE THEIR PRESENCE WAS ROYALLY GREETED BY NUMEROUS CHEERS FROM THE CROWD. Around 1 a.m., the return journey took the same route, and the welcome was just as enthusiastic. THIS ACCIDENTAL RECEPTION DOES CREDIT TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE, WHO RECEIVE WITH THE SAME SYMPATHY IN MISFORTUNE THOSE WHO, IN PROSPERITY, WERE THEIR FAITHFUL ALLIES." NAPOLEON III, QUEEN VICTORIA AND FRANCO-BRITISH RELATIONS. Attached to the European equilibrium born of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, England initially showed distrust, even hostility, to the new imperial regime. Napoleon III, however, never ceased to regard joint action with his British neighbor as the keystone of his foreign policy, as demonstrated by his actions in Mexico, China and the Crimea. The free-trade treaty signed with England in 1860, as well as his interest in labor issues across the Channel, earned him a general reputation among the English population as a friend of England. Although this did not prevent a few outbreaks of Francophobia, and did not convince the British government to follow the Emperor in his desire to refound the European order and curb Prussian power, Napoleon III's popularity remained generally intact, even after the fall of the Empire. Moreover, based on friendship and mutual esteem, close relations were forged between the French and English ruling families: Napoleon III made two visits to England, in 1855 and 1857, while Queen Victoria paid two visits to France, in 1855 and 1858, and was always considerate of exiles.
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