10 Things You Didn't Know About Napoleon
2. Napoleon's Son Was Buried By Hitler
After Napoleon's death in 1821, he was transported back to France for a proper burial. However, his son's wish to be buried with his father had to wait over 100 years before it was fulfilled.
Napoleon Bonaparte Jr. lived out the rest of his life in Austria after his father was exiled to St. Helena. Napoleon’s son was not permitted to follow in his father's footsteps, as the Bonapartes had been banned from ruling France as part of Napoleon’s reluctant surrender. Despite this, Napoleon Jr. was named as the Duke of Reichstadt in 1818 at just seven years old, before he died in 1832 aged just 21. He was buried in his city of death, Vienna, and his wish to be buried with his father was not carried out.
This was until an Austrian named Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933. Shortly after war was declared, Hitler ordered in 1940 that Napoleon Bonaparte Jr’s remains be moved to Les Invalides in Paris, so he could join his father in death. Little did Hitler know at the time, but he was only a few years away from joining them in death himself.