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ST. Michael's Abbey is a beautiful Abbey Church built in the peace and tranquillity of the English countryside by the French Empress Eugenie, following the exile to England of the Emperor Napoleon III and his family in 1871. It was built as a loving tribute to the memory of her husband, both Eugenie, Napoleon and their son the Prince Imperial are buried in the crypt.
Eugenie lies buried on a shelf above the alter, as a sign of her association with a lay order she was accorded the privilege of being laid to rest dressed as a nun, whilst Napoleon is buried in British Military uniform. The Prince Imperial died as a British soldier during the Boer War. The tombs in which the Imperial family lie were in the Royal gift of Queen Victoria. The crypt is entirely peaceful as befits the wish of the Empress that her family should rest in a place of prayer and silence.
St.Michael's Abbey Church was to a design by noted French architect Gabriel Hippolyte-Alexander Destailler and is essentially very French and exquisitely ornate. It is thought that Destailler modelled it on various churches throughout the Loire region of France.
The Abbey is a wonderful place to visit, guided tours are available of the church and crypt each Saturday at 3.30.p.m.
St.Michael's Abbey is located at Farnborough, N.W. of Guildford.
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