Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte (20 March 1811 – 22 July 1832) was disputed Emperor of the French as Napoleon II for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise and had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome since birth. Napoleon II was known in the Austrian court as Franz from 1814 onward, and was Duke of Reichstadt from 1818. His nickname of L'Aiglon ("the Eaglet") was awarded posthumously and was popularized by the Edmond Rostand play, L'Aiglon. When Napoleon I tried to abdicate on 4 April 1814, he said that his son would rule as emperor. However, the coalition victors refused to acknowledge his son as successor, and Napoleon I was forced to abdicate unconditionally some days later. Although Napoleon II never actually ruled France, he was briefly the titular Emperor of the French after the second fall of his father.