RECEPTION OF NAPOLEON III AND EMPRESS EUGÉNIE AT THE GUILDHALL

WYON, Benjamin: France, 1855, Bronze, 76 mm
Obv: Conjoined busts of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie    NAPOLEON III ET EUGENIA GALLORUM IMPERATOR ET IMPERATRIX (Napoleon III and Eugénie, Emperor and Empress of France)
Rev: Britannia introduces Gallia (France) to Londinia (City of London).    CONCORDES SERVAT AMICITIA (Friendship keeps them on good terms)
Exergue: LONDINI RECEPTI 19. APR. 1855
Signed: B. WYON
Mintage: 350
In original case of issue (see Appendix)
Ref: Welch 7; BHM 194/2561; Eimer 178/1496; Page-Divo 134/233;  Weiss BW288  This medal is photographed in Eldem p. 236.

Charles Louis Napoleon Buonaparte (1808-1873), Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, was the third son of Louis Buonaparte, ex-king of Holland. His mother was Hortense, the daughter of the Empress Josephine by her first marriage. In 1853 Napoleon III married Eugénie Marie de Guzman, comtesse de Teba, also called Eugénie de Montijo.  Eugénie was a cousin of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French engineer who was responsible for the construction of the Suez Canal.  The Emperor and Empress visited the British Court in 1855 at which time the Queen invested his Imperial Majesty with the insignia of a Knight of the Garter. Their reception and entertainment took place at the Guildhall.

LINK to Suez Canal  (from Wikipedia)

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