Le Prince Imperial Napoleon IV survives the Anglo-Zulu War

I was wondering what would happen had Le Petite Prince survived the Anglo-Zulu war? How does he interact with WWI? How does this change the weak nascent Third Republic?

One idea I had that is borderline wank was, what if unsatisfied with British dithering in getting him to South Africa he decides to forge documents, and tries to pull of Frederick the Great and runaway to join the British Army? This in the beginnings of the war, and arrives with Chelmsford's first force. By the time they reach Zulu country, Chelmsford realizes what's happened and leaves the Prince Imperial behind while they decide what to do with him. Chelmsford, not knowing whether to send him back to Britain, or to keep him with him, or to send him to Cape Town, leaves him at a small formed Mission, called Rorke's Drift! He survives the battle, is awarded the Victoria Cross, but is sent back to Britain for the remainder of the conflict. I imagine him pursuing a career in the British Army
 
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He gets himself elected President of France amid the Dreyfus Affair fallout, and is popular enough to have himself proclaimed emperor.
 
He gets himself elected President of France amid the Dreyfus Affair fallout, and is popular enough to have himself proclaimed emperor.

I could see this happening if he had survived. Plus if he had married Princess Beatrice, there may have been an earlier Entente between France and England.
 
How smart was this guy? From the little I read he seems to have inherited his mother's brains.

If he was basically being raised to be an adventurer, like his father, but he had his mother's brains he is going to get himself killed sooner or later.

Actually I think his best option was to go to the US and become a journalist.
 
How smart was this guy? From the little I read he seems to have inherited his mother's brains.

If he was basically being raised to be an adventurer, like his father, but he had his mother's brains he is going to get himself killed sooner or later.

Actually I think his best option was to go to the US and become a journalist.
Maybe he could marry one of Betsy Patterson's descendants.
 
How smart was this guy? From the little I read he seems to have inherited his mother's brains.

If he was basically being raised to be an adventurer, like his father, but he had his mother's brains he is going to get himself killed sooner or later.

Actually I think his best option was to go to the US and become a journalist.

Well if was still wanting glory, maybe he joins Custer's vacation ride in 1876? :openedeyewink:
 
I was wondering what would happen had Le Petite Prince survived the Anglo-Zulu war? How does he interact with WWI? How does this change the weak nascent Third Republic?

Check out my TL: "Rubber, Republicans, Revolutionaries, & a Young Man named Bonaparte". To see a possible different France/World. (Shameless plug :firstimekiss:)
 
He gets himself elected President of France amid the Dreyfus Affair fallout, and is popular enough to have himself proclaimed emperor.
I imagined him serving in England until WWI. Then, becoming the leader of the BEF, and fighting in France, after proclaiming he isn't just going to march on Paris, of course.
 
Elected president? No chance.
Under the IIIrd Republic, the President was elected by the Parliament and though the Right may score some progress, Republicans either liberal (covert conservative) or radicals still held a strong majority in both houses, not counting such a scenario would have the Right united whereas it was divided between orleanists, legitimists and bonapartists, and that's only speaking about monarchists.
Also, in 1886, a law that forbade members of former reigning houses to set a foot in France and its territories, a law that would only be repealed after WWII.
As for the match, it would be necessarily a princess from one of great European dynasties. Princess Beatrice, daughter of Victoria, had long been speculated a possible choice; excluding German houses for 1870 and Bourbons to keep the Bonaparte house distinguished from them (a fundamental feature of Bonapartism is its foundation on the legacy of 1789 Revolution), that leave Danish and Italian (Savoian) royal families.
 
Elected president? No chance.
Under the IIIrd Republic, the President was elected by the Parliament and though the Right may score some progress, Republicans either liberal (covert conservative) or radicals still held a strong majority in both houses, not counting such a scenario would have the Right united whereas it was divided between orleanists, legitimists and bonapartists, and that's only speaking about monarchists.
Also, in 1886, a law that forbade members of former reigning houses to set a foot in France and its territories, a law that would only be repealed after WWII.
As for the match, it would be necessarily a princess from one of great European dynasties. Princess Beatrice, daughter of Victoria, had long been speculated a possible choice; excluding German houses for 1870 and Bourbons to keep the Bonaparte house distinguished from them (a fundamental feature of Bonapartism is its foundation on the legacy of 1789 Revolution), that leave Danish and Italian (Savoian) royal families.
I think Beatrice was the best idea, and most likely choice. However I read Queen Victoria had some doubts about Le Petit Prince.
 
I heard that too, but I don't think it an impossible obstacle. I believe Victoria and Eugénie were good if not great friends : for the story, as she was a young empress, Eugénie had gone through two unsuccessfull pregnancies before Victoria, while visiting the Exposition Universelle in 1855, gave her precious advices on how handling a pregnancy, and as a result the Prince Impérial was born months later, so we can say both woman have a strong connection through the prince.
 
I heard that too, but I don't think it an impossible obstacle. I believe Victoria and Eugénie were good if not great friends : for the story, as she was a young empress, Eugénie had gone through two unsuccessfull pregnancies before Victoria, while visiting the Exposition Universelle in 1855, gave her precious advices on how handling a pregnancy, and as a result the Prince Impérial was born months later, so we can say both woman have a strong connection through the prince.
TIL. Yeah, I think that would possibly upset Anglo-French relations. Though by WWI I'm sure they'd be back up to snuff.
 
We shouldn't forget that the prince imperial wanted to better the condition of worker as he desired to give more right to the working class so that they ceased to be overworked.
 
Didn't Eugenie want a match with one of Isabel II's daughters for her son if she could get it? Maria da Paz, I think?

Then there's the whole shebang here which would've made for interesting times.
 
Didn't Eugenie want a match with one of Isabel II's daughters for her son if she could get it? Maria da Paz, I think?

Then there's the whole shebang here which would've made for interesting times.
That would have been interesting, however I think Napoleon IV was more Anglophilic than his ancestors, or great uncle.
 
That would have been interesting, however I think Napoleon IV was more Anglophilic than his ancestors, or great uncle.

Valid point, but I can't think that the French would want an emperor who's been raised in the English fashion, served in the English army and married to a Protestant British princess. The marriage might be a bridge too far for the French to swallow, wouldn't it. Yes, Britain is the most powerful country of the day, Victoria has an empire the sun never sets on blah-blah-blah, but the French might view things differently - a Corsican emperor, sure; an Anglophilic emperor maybe; an Empereur des Francais who says how high when London says jump (since that's what it will look like to many of the French), I can't think so much.
 
Valid point, but I can't think that the French would want an emperor who's been raised in the English fashion, served in the English army and married to a Protestant British princess. The marriage might be a bridge too far for the French to swallow, wouldn't it. Yes, Britain is the most powerful country of the day, Victoria has an empire the sun never sets on blah-blah-blah, but the French might view things differently - a Corsican emperor, sure; an Anglophilic emperor maybe; an Empereur des Francais who says how high when London says jump (since that's what it will look like to many of the French), I can't think so much.

(I'm thinking of this as part of a TL, long story short USA in CP)

Just going over what I've thought in my head, he commands the BEF, and essentially stops the German offensive as they enact the Schlieffen plan. Perhaps he leads a counter attack that manages to push the Germans backwards, however once the Russian Empire falls it's over, with little U.K reinforcements coming to France due to war in Canada, the war is over by 1917 once the U.S joins. The French government begins to collapse as in 1871, he rallies loyal forces and crushes communist forces in Paris. He beings to negotiate with the Germans. He manages to get off not that bad, since they're worried about communist revolts in Russia, and all over the rest of the world aswell as back home, so the Kaiser is lenient. He has the army, he has Paris, the Germans negotiated with him, he declares the Third French Empire and that the Republic is dead. Perhaps the British don't want peace yet, and they dismiss him from command as he takes over French anti communist forces, showing the French people he doesn't take orders from London.
 
(I'm thinking of this as part of a TL, long story short USA in CP)

Just going over what I've thought in my head, he commands the BEF, and essentially stops the German offensive as they enact the Schlieffen plan. Perhaps he leads a counter attack that manages to push the Germans backwards.

You'd need a lot of butterflies here as the BEF at that point was still fairly small IOTL.
 
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