Napoleon's only son (Napoleon II) survived him, but died in Austria at the age of 21, too soon to leave his mark on history. However, 21 is old enough to have a mind of his own: do we know about his political thoughts and ambitions? What was going on in his mind about his own position and future?

by Oppidano

For a similar previous question, u/kieslowskifan gave a great answer, but he focused on what was going on around him. I recommend reading it for context.

However, I'm interested in what was going on inside his head: did he know about the details of his father's political creations, or did he care more about the romantic image of it and the military side of things? Was he a blind apologist of everything Napoleonic or had he started to develop something of an individual view? And was he fully aware of his exceptional situation and what was going on in France as detailed in the answer above?

Tonyracs

Did Napoleons son have any kids?

EnclavedMicrostate

As a follow-up, what about Napoleon IV, who was also killed at an only moderately young age (23) in the Zulu War?