Napoleon III’s blue plaque in London and burial site.

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The blue plaque commemorating the stay of the Emperor Louis Napoleon III in King Street (St James) is the earliest surviving plaque in London.

The use of the colour blue was rare and not often repeated at the time as it was expensive to produce. It is actually the only blue plaque installed during the recipient's lifetime.


Following the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870 and exiled from France, Napoleon III (Bonaparte’s nephew), his wife Eugénie and their son the Prince Imperial sought refuge in England. The family eventually took residence at Camden Place in Chislehurst where the Emperor spent the rest of his life. He was consequently buried at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Chislehurst.

Following the death of the Prince Imperial at the age of 23, the grief-stricken Empress Eugénie set about to establish a monument to her family and founded St Michael Abbey in Farnborough as a mausoleum for her husband and son. The abbey featured an Imperial Crypt, modelled on the altar of St Louis in France, the Emperor’s original choice for his final resting place. The three members of the family rest together in a granite sarcophagi provided by Queen Victoria.



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