The Architecture of Camden Place
Hidden in plain sight, learn more about the architectural secrets of this unique historic house.
- Camden Park Rd, Chislehurst, Kent, BR7 5HJ, United Kingdom
Tragically a Second Funeral from Camden Place
The Prince Imperial’s death in the Zulu Wars meant that the Empress had to organise a second funeral, this time for her only son. The young man, who many hoped would become Napoleon lV returned to Camden Place via Woolwich. His coffin was covered not in the French flag but a British one as he died in British uniform.
Painting of the funeral procession outside Camden Place
The journey home from South Africa via Woolwich
Four memorials
Only six years separated the deaths of the Emperor Napoleon and his son Louis, the Prince Imperial, who was killed overseas in the Zulu Wars.
It is reported that this funeral was even bigger than his father’s but the small St Mary’s church still had capacity for only 200 mourners. The Empress did not attend the funeral but this time her close friend Queen Victoria came to Camden Place to sit with her.
Nearly 1,500 police were on duty on this occasion in July 1879 – all of whom were awarded an extra day’s pay as a token of gratitude from the Empress Eugénie herself.
The people of Chislehurst collected some £500 to have a monument erected in memory of the Prince. It is situated on Prince Imperial Road – almost opposite the front doors of Camden Place.
A collection from the general public raised monies for a monument in Westminster Abbey but there were objections from a number of Members of Parliament and despite protestations from Queen Victoria this was not allowed. Instead, she arranged for the beautiful memorial to be placed in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Altogether there are 4 memorials in England for the Prince Imperial, the two mentioned above, one in the church at St Mary’s and another that was at Woolwich but has been moved to Sandhurst. There are no memorials to him in France.
Prince Imperial memorial at St Mary's church in Chislehurst
Prince Imperial memorial at Woolwich - now moved to Sandhurst
About Chislehurst and the Prince Imperial
A quote from Napoleon lll and his Carnival Empire by John Bierman
‘While the splendid boulevards and avenues of present day Paris and much of the city’s architecture, implicitly memorialise the third Napoleon, it is left to a modest back road in a leafy London suburb to commemorate the young man who might have become the fourth.’
Photo by Stephanie Furquim Elias who was a pupil at Coopers School when this was taken
Farnborough Hill is a Grade 1 listed building
The Imperial bodies are moved
Unable to aquire land near the church in Chislehurst the Empress relocated to Farnborough in Hampshire. An abbey was built and the bodies moved in 1888.
The Empress bough a new home, Farnborough Hill and she moved in 1881. The house is now a girls school and it is possible to organise a visit.
Farnborough Hill run tours throughout the year. To be added to their waitlist please contact Ailsa West a.west@farnborough-hill.org
https://www.farnborough-hill.org/about-us/our-history
Explore the History
Discover Camden Place’s unique history through the people and events that shaped its story that spans more than 400 years.
