The Crown of Napoleon III was a crown that was made for

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

Emperor of the French Emperor of the French (French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procla ...

. Although he did not have a

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

ceremony, a crown was made for him on the occasion of the 1855 Exposition Universelle in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The gold crown had eagle-shaped arches and others in the form of

palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...

s, set with diamonds, and topped by a ''

monde A ''monde'', meaning 'world' in French, is an orb located near the top of a crown. It represents, as the name suggests, the world that the monarch rules. It is the point at which a crown's half arches meet. It is usually topped off either w ...

''. During the same period, a

consort crown A consort crown is a crown worn by the consort of a monarch for their coronation or on state occasions. Unlike with reigning monarchs, who may inherit one or more crowns for use, consorts sometimes had special crowns made uniquely for them and ...

was made for his empress consort, Eugénie de Montijo, which is known as the

Crown of Empress Eugénie The Crown of Empress Eugénie is the consort crown that was made for Eugénie de Montijo, the empress consort of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Although neither she or her husband had a coronation ceremony, a crown was specially created for ...

. After Napoleon III was overthrown in 1870, following the Franco-Prussian War, he and his wife lived in exile at Chislehurst in England, where he died in 1873. Most of the

French Crown Jewels The French Crown Jewels (french: Joyaux de la Couronne de France) comprise the crowns, orb, sceptres, diadems and jewels that were symbols of Royal power between 752 and 1825. These were worn by many Kings and Queens of France as well as Emper ...

were sold by the Third Republic in 1885, including the Crown of Napoleon III.The Crown of Empress Eugénie
''Fondation Napoléon''. However, the Crown of Empress Eugénie was returned to the former empress, who bequeathed it to Princess Marie-Clotilde Bonaparte. It subsequently came up for auction in 1988, after which it was donated by Roberto Polo to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

museum in Paris, where it is now on display.

References

{{crowns French monarchy

French Crown Jewels

See also

References