Chapter 60, The Price

St. Petersburg

The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl-Wassell, frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the Paris Envoy has sent news that Louis-Napoleon-Bonaparte restored himself as Napoleon III on January 1, 1852."

Upon hearing the news of Napoleon III's restoration, Nicholas I became furious. In his view, the Napoleon family, being upstarts, had no right to act as the Emperor of France.

This was not just his personal opinion, but also a matter of practical interest. Napoleon's rise to power through elections had broken the tradition of "divine right of kings," shaking the foundations of all monarchies in Europe, which was the origin of the anti-French wars.

Having suppressed such heretical ideas with difficulty, the restoration of Napoleon III was a slap in the face to all participants of the Congress of Vienna, and most importantly, an insult to Alexander I.