The death of the exiled heir to the French imperial throne as he wore British uniform during the Zulu War was shocking enough, but, as Alex Zakrzewski describes, it brought greater scandal than crushing defeat
Nobody in the British Army was particularly happy to see Prince Louis- Napoléon when he turned up in Natal in spring 1879. Least happy of all was Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford, commander of British forces in Southern Africa. Chelmsford was busy planning his second invasion of the Zulu Kingdom. His first had ended in disaster with the annihilation of the British column at Isandlwana. With his career and reputation hanging by a thread, the last thing he wanted was a celebrity to look after – especially one as high-profile as the exiled heir to the French throne. But the Prince Imperial came armed with a glowing letter of introduction from Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-
