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.
As a young boy, François-Ferdinand was sent by his father to France, more specifically to Paris, where Christophe hoped that his son would receive a sturdy, military 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.
[citation needed] The French promised that his son would receive a liberal education; instead, they placed François-Ferdinand in an orphans' asylum in Paris.