Under the marble pavement of the sanctuary of the upper church lies the French Imperial family, entombed in
the crypt designed for that purpose. The Emperor Napoleon III and Prince Imperial lie in granite sarcophagi
in the transepts and the Empress Eugenie on a shelf high above the altar.
The crypt is a place of great irony. It has all the sobriety of a mausoleum but enjoys at the same time
the warmth and intimacy of a small chapel. It is ironic that the last head of state with the name of
Bonaparte should find his final rest on English soil; ironic that Louis, the Prince Imperial - the last
Napoleon - should have died a British soldier and lie buried in British military uniform. There is further
irony in the fact that Eugenie, to whose piety the Abbey is a memorial, lies buried dressed as a nun - a
privilege of her lay association with a religious order.
The crypt is at once imperial and royal. The tombs, the gift of Queen Victoria, are an obvious echo of the
tomb of Napoleon I at Les Invalides in Paris. The inlaid marble star of the floor instantly reminds one of
the star around the tomb of 'our ancestor', as the young Prince used to call him. But the Prince's blood
was not only imperial but also royal, since through his mother's line, he enjoyed royal blood and direct
descent from St Louis, King of France.
Thus the high altar of the crypt is dedicated to St Louis, and, just as the architectural features remind
us of Napoleon, so they also remind us of the kings of France and the Abbey of St Denis in Paris, where a
crypt in Romanesque style houses the bones of the kings of France and is crowned by the Gothic basilica that
once housed monks commissioned to pray for their souls.
There are two other altars in the Abbey Crypt. The first of these is a beautiful mahogany altar donated to
the Abbey following a conversion to Catholicism. This altar belonged to the nuns of St Katherine's convent, Queen
Square, London. The reredos, a later addition to the original altar, was added as a memorial to their
chaplain, Dr Richard Littledale, author of the hymn 'Come down, O love divine' and the book 'Plain Reasons
Against Joining the Church of Rome'. The other altar is St Peter's altar again donated from the Mill Hill
Fathers. Stunningly beautiful in white, yellow and black marble, it depicts scenes from the life of St
Peter, hand carved into the marble.
Few enjoy burial with the dignity enjoyed by the Imperial family at Farnborough. For more than one hundred
years, monks of the Benedictine order have faithfully attended to the Empress's desire that her family
should rest in a place of prayer and silence.
The Empress and Abbot Cabrol, the first abbot of St Michael's, came to a compromise over the use of the
crypt. They agreed that during her lifetime the crypt should be used only for Mass unless she gave express
permission for other events. Soldiers in uniform should always be allowed access, she insisted, in honour
of the Prince Imperial. Eugenie kept her own key to the crypt, entering through her own door half way up the
imposing Destailleur staircase.
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