Anyone know Napoleon IV's likely ruling style? His dad will be gone (dead or voluntary abdication, which he mentioned due to his health) by the late 1870s so the Second Empire requires Nappy Mk.4 to bugger things up really.
Well checking out how he died is good indication of his personality IMO.
Misfortune?
And frankly, most 23 year olds are at least a little impetuous - that doesn't mean that's the be all and end all of their character.
He seems to have been a reasonably intelligent young man, and pleasant enough - I'd count those over his death as a sign of how he'll mature.
Maybe. But there does seem to be a pattern with the House of Bonaparte.
First we check how he died, then we assume he's just going to be like all the other Bonapartes.
At what point do we say that it's speculation what kind of ruler he'd be?
France would easily trump Austria at the time and would probably be even stronger...though it may force Austria and Prussia to reconcile and unite against France later on...