Photograph of Napoleon III, the Emperor of the French, who is seated at a desk, reading a book in a half length portrait.

Napoleon III was the Emperor of the French from 2 December 1852 until he was deposed after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. He left France to live with his family in Camden Place in Kent, England and died 9 January 1873. He was originally interred in St Mary's Church in Chislehurst but in 1888, his remains together with his son the Prince Imperial who had been killed during the Zulu War in 1879, were moved to the Imperial Crypt at St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire.