Where is Napoleon III buried?
Why he is not here
Because the Republic did not want him and the imperial family did not press the point at the right moment. The Second Empire collapsed at Sedan in 1870; the emperor died three years later at Chislehurst; Eugénie, who outlived him by nearly half a century, had the abbey at Farnborough built to gather her husband and her son. The tomb is therefore English by private decision as much as by political constraint.
The son's fate is the hardest part of the story: commissioned in the British army, he was killed in 1879 in southern Africa during the Zulu war, at twenty-three. His death ended any serious prospect of an imperial restoration. See the Les Invalides burials page for who, by contrast, does lie under the Dôme.
Book your entry
The ticket below opens the Dôme, the tomb and the four museums, for the whole day.
Frequently asked questions
Is Napoleon III at Les Invalides?
No, he is buried at Farnborough in England, with the Empress Eugénie and their son.
Will he ever be repatriated?
The question recurs in public debate but has never come to anything.