I am painting up a figure set of Louis Napoleon, the "Prince Imperial", and his dog ("Nero") based on his last stand in the Zulu War. Researching the subject has led to some puzzling questions and someone here might know the answers.
This dog of the Prince is noted in most sources as a fox terrier and named Nero. All fine and good. And he was killed by the Zulus along with the Prince (and I assume his carcass was left where it lay and not buried or returned with his master's, poor thing). So --
-- where did this dog come from? Did he accompany the Prince from England? Or was he acquired in South Africa?
There is a famous statue of Louis Napoleon from about 1865, when he was about 8 years old, and he's standing with a dog -- NOT a fox terrier -- that is usually noted as "the Emperor's dog, Nero" a gift from a Russian diplomat. A grown dog. This introduces much confusion. This cannot be the dog that died with the Prince in Zululand. This dog must have been long dead by 1979.
So is the name "Nero" wrongly attributed to the Prince's fox terrier? Based on this early statue? Or is it vice-versa?
Or was the Prince carrying on a family tradition, or acting on a sentimental whim, and named this fox terrier after his childhood canine companion?
It's not a big deal, I suppose, but I'd like to get to the bottom of this little mystery. It's a sad story no matter what the details.
