The only legitimate son of French Emperor Napoleon III enlisted in the British colonial army as a young man. The prince, sole heir to the French crown, was ambushed by a group of Zulu warriors who far outnumbered him…
The young imperial prince fought off dozens of Zulus, practically on his own as most of his escort had fled the scene. He was struck by spears, throwing one back, fighting them by sword and gun. Eventually, he was overwhelmed, weakened by many deep wounds, and was stabbed in the eye by one of the Zulus… the prince then died and with him, the French empire lost its sole heir. When his comrades retrieved his body the next day, he was found to have eighteen wounds on his body — eight inflicted during his final stand, and ten received after death, as the Zulu had a habit of stabbing the fallen body of a particularly formidable opponent as a means of honoring him as a “worthy kill”, the way they would when taking down a great beast.
Up until the moment of his death, 23-year-old Prince Louis-Napoleon had it easy enough. In fact you’d be hard-pressed to find a young lad who had easier life. And then, in 1879, his luck ran out in a brutal fashion. People sometimes do have it easy in life… until one day, they don’t. I’m alive and well writing this, no Zulu spear lodged into my eye socket — I’m no Prince of France, but I am the lucky one. For now.