[Quick Facts] Napoleon III "Retired" To Southern England

After the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870, Napoleon III, his wife Empress Eugénie and their son the Prince Imperial were exiled from France and took up residence in Chislehurst, England. Napoleon died just three years later in 1873, and was originally buried in St Mary's Catholic Church. After the death of her son, the Prince Imperial, Empress Eugénie set about creating a memorial to her family.

She founded St Michael's Abbey in 1881 as a mausoleum for her husband and son, wishing that the burial place should be a place of prayer and silence. Empress Eugénie included an imperial crypt, modelled on the altar of St Louis in France, where the Emperor had originally desired to be buried. She too was later buried here along with her husband and son. All three rest in granite sarcophagi provided by Queen Victoria herself.

I just had no idea that this was where Napoleon ended up spending the last few years of his life, and then later entombed. I hope to do these quick little facts as often as I can, as they don't take long to write and hopefully you'll find these nuggets of history as interesting as I did. Thanks for reading, and if you would like to see more of these Quick Facts or perhaps my Cryptocurrency, Internet and Pop Culture updates then make sure you hit that follow button to have my posts appear in your feed. Until next time, Peace!

Source:
St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Michael%27s_Abbey,_Farnborough)

All images are used without the express authorisation of the copyright holders. They are used under what's known in British law as "Fair Dealing" or under US law as "Fair Use" exceptions. For example, exceptions relating to research and private study, criticism or review, or news reporting. For more information visit the UK Gov website or the US Gov website.