Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie of France, c 1865.

FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 09: Carte de visite photograph by Disderi & Cie of Paris. Napoleon III (1808-1873) assumed the title of Emperor of France in 1852, and the following year married the Spanish countess Eugenie de Montijo (1826-1920). Eugenie gave birth to Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph, the Prince Imperial, in 1856. Napoleon gave his country two decades of prosperity under a stable authoritarian government with the active support of his wife, who influenced his foreign policy. His empire ended in defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1871. The subsequent revolt in Paris forced the family to flee to England, where Napoleon died in 1873 after surgery to remove a gall stone. His son, the Prince Imperial, died in the Zulu war of 1879. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)