Portrait of Eugenie, Empress of the French (1826-1920), wife of Napoleon III. The daughter of a Spanish duke, Eugenie married Napoleon in 1853. Together with her husband she ensured the brilliance of the French Second Empire and was well-known for her patronage of fashion and other luxury French industries. A renowned beauty, she acted as regent while Napoleon fought campaigns in Italy and in the Franco-Prussian war. The family were exiled to Britain in 1870 following Napoleon's capture at Sedan. They settled at Chislehurst in Kent where the Emperor died in 1873. Her son, Louis Napoleon, the Prince Imperial was killed while accompanying the British as an observer during the Zulu War in June 1879. Eugenie built a monument to him and the Imperial family at Farnborough in Hampshire.