Editing Napoleon III (section)

===Return and early affairs===
[[File:Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte à Boulogne (Débarquement en Août 1840).JPG|thumb|Louis Napoleon's 1840 attempt to lead an uprising against King Louis Philippe ended in fiasco and ridicule. He was sentenced to prison for life in the fortress of [[Ham, Somme|Ham]] in Northern France.]]
[[File:Louis Napoléon à Ham - estampe de Philippoteaux.jpg|thumb|Louis Napoleon in his room in the fortress of Ham where he studied, wrote, and conducted scientific experiments. He later often referred to what he had learned at "the University of Ham".]]
Louis Napoleon quickly resumed his place in British society. He lived on [[King Street, St James's]], London, went to the theatre and hunted, renewed his acquaintance with Benjamin Disraeli, and met [[Charles Dickens]]. He went back to his studies at the [[British Museum]]. He had an affair with the actress [[Rachel (actress)|Rachel]], the most famous French actress of the period, during her tours to Britain. More important for his future career, he had an affair with the wealthy heiress [[Harriet Howard]] (1823–1865). They met in 1846, soon after his return to Britain. They began to live together, and she took in his two illegitimate children and raised them with her own son, and she provided financing for his political plans so that, when the moment came, he could return to France.{{Sfn|Séguin|1990|pp=96–97}}