François-Ferdinand Henri Christophe was the eldest son and first child of Field General Henri Christophe, future King of Haiti, and his wife, Marie-Louise Coidavid.
Background
Because he was both born and died before his father"s ascension as King, in 1811, he was never Prince Royal of Haiti, nor was he ever heir apparent to the throne. He was born in 1794 in Cap-Français (Le Cap), Saint-Domingue, now known as Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, as the first child and eldest son of Henri Christophe, a Field General and former slave, and Marie-Louise Coidavid, the daughter of a black hotel owner.
Career
He is strong and strapping, like medical He recognized medical He caught hold of my finger and smiled. He is the image of me!"
When he was the appropriate age, Christophe started making plans for François-Ferdinand"s education.
Instead, the Parisians, freshly defeated by the Haitian armies led by Christophe, in numerous battles, took François-Ferdinand out of school and made him a hostage.
Christophe, learning of this situation, demanded explanations. On October 7, 1805, the 11-year-old boy died at the Orphans" Hospital of Paris.
Both the circumstances of his death and his burial place are unknown. Even after Christophe became King Henri I of Haiti, he remained heartbroken because of his son"s death.
His official historian, forced to make constant references to the boy"s lonely death in France, referred to François-Ferdinand with the title of prince, though he was never entitled to use it during his lifetime.