The Imperial Crown of Mexico was the crown created for the Sovereign of Mexico on two separate occasions in the 19th century. The first was created upon the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from the kingdom of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

in 1821, for the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era ...

. The second crown was created upon the decree of the Assembly of Notables in 1863 for the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

Flag of the Second Mexican Empire (1865-1867)

First Mexican Empire

The crown of the

was made for Emperor Agustín I in 1822, and it can be seen in many of his portraits. However, its history is not entirely known. File:Emperor Agustin I kroningsportret.JPG, Emperor Agustín I with the crown of the First Mexican Empire. File:Coronamiento Iturbide.JPG, Coronation of Emperor Agustín I in July 1822. File:Coat of Arms of the First Mexican Empire.svg, Emperor Agustín I's crowned coat of arms. File:Emperatriz Ana Maria by Josephus Arias Huerta.jpg, Empress consort

Ana María Ana María (17 May 1929 – 6 April 1983) was the nom-de-guerre of Dr. Mélida Anaya Montes, the second in command of the Fuerzas Populares de Liberación Farabundo Martí (FPL), the oldest of the five guerilla organizations making up the FMLN, ...

with the Imperial Crown of Mexico.

Second Mexican Empire

The second Imperial Crown of Mexico, created during the

for Emperor Maximilian I (his consort was Charlotte of Belgium, known as Empress Carlota), who reigned from 1864 to 1867, is better documented. The original crown was destroyed during the ensuing fighting and victory of the Mexican republic, but replicas remain on display. The Imperial Crown of Mexico during Maximilian's reign was modeled on the crowns of France and Austria. The crown of Maximilian's ancestor,

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself E ...

, had two arches which crossed over the top of the miter. It is this unique form which appears to have been the model. However, since

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 neph ...

was the main power behind the

, and as an extension of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s ...

, the Mexican crown also used the half-arches and eagles on the circlet on the front, back and sides from the crown of Napoleon III. The Imperial Crown of Mexico also shares many similarities with the

Crown of Empress Eugenie A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

,http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2199/2035681435_cb15b2d5a6.jpg Napoleon III's consort. File:X-Large Portrait of Maximiliano.jpg, Emperor Maximilian I with the crown of the Second Mexican Empire. File:ImperialMexicanCrown1.jpg, Funerary crown of Emperor Maximilian I, kept at the Imperial Furniture Depot in Vienna File:Second Mexican Empire's Coat of Arms.png, The arms of the Second Mexican Empire showing the imperial crown above File:Paseo Juárez "El Llano" 05.JPG, Statue of Benito Juárez made in 1894 at Paseo Juárez "El Llano" in the historic centre of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...

. Juárez holds a Mexican flag with one hand and points with the other to the Imperial Crown of Mexico below, representing the republican defeat of the Second Mexican Empire.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050305022633/http://www.casaimperial.org/
C.M. Mayo's blog for researchers of Mexico's Second Empire, a period also known as the French Intervention

Library of Congress lecture (podcast) by C.M. Mayo about research in the Emperor Iturbide and Iturbide Family archives, July 2009
{{crowns

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

History of Mexico Mexican monarchy National symbols of Mexico