The history behind the stolen Crown Jewels

Before the French crown jewels were stolen from the Louvre on October 19, most people had all but forgotten about the female rulers who wore them during their reigns in the 19th century. Even the Louvre’s own website offers little context—under “Object Location,” each work’s page now reads the jarring phrase: “Not on display.” But the personal histories of the women who once owned the jewels reveal France’s tumultuous political past and bring these royal names to life.

However, historian Raphael Dagent has not forgotten them. He recently published biographies of France’s last queen, Maria Amalia, and Queen Eugenie, both of whom had their jewelry stolen on Sunday. dargent told art news The theft of the eight jewels, which are among the few remaining crown jewels, is particularly poignant after the French government auctioned off most of them in 1887 to pay debts and rid itself of the monarchical symbols of the newly formed Third Republic.

Two of the stolen items once belonged to Empress Eugenie: her pearl and diamond diadem and a bow brooch. Both works were sold at that fateful auction in 1887 and were reacquired by the Louvre more than a century later with the help of the Society of Friends of the Louvre, an association of private donors to the Louvre Museum. Eugenie’s tiara, which features 212 pearls and 1,998 diamonds arranged among 992 roses, was reportedly purchased from Sotheby’s in 1992 for $1 million. The brooch was purchased in 2008 for nearly $8 million. Other collections acquired by the museum in 1985 have never been sold by the French government. They are still with the original owners’ families, who are allowed to keep them.

One item of particularly high value was a relic brooch, which never left official hands and remained in the Louvre until it was stolen, Dargent said. Set with two huge diamonds, this brooch was originally a gift from Cardinal Mazarin to King Louis XIV in the 17th century. The diamond in the center was used by kings as buttons.

For the monarch who wore them, the jewelry was a political tool — a symbol of power and authority, rather than personal preference, Dargent said. “These sovereigns need to wear the cloak of power and their jewelry is an attribute of power or political statement and does not necessarily reflect their own personal taste,” explains Dagent.

Still, some rulers, such as Queen Maria Amalia—the owner of the stolen sapphire jewelry and crown—have reason to be wary of flaunting such power. After all, France had just recently beheaded its queen, Marie Antoinette, who was widely condemned for her extravagant tastes and extravagant displays. It is no exaggeration to say that she paid for it with her life.

Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily was queen consort from 1830 to 1848, until her husband King Louis Philippe was overthrown during another French Revolution. Her aunt Marie Antoinette was guillotined in 1793. “Maria Amalia was about 11 years old when Marie Antoinette was executed,” Dargent said. “She saw her mother grieving. They went to church to pray. These executions were her first political memories and were incredibly traumatic, the horrific images of her aunt and uncle being publicly beheaded in Paris.”

He added that all Europe’s ruling elites were “deeply shocked” by the French Revolution and feared a repeat of it. Therefore, after becoming queen, Maria Amalia deliberately displayed a modest bourgeois style. She refused to wear the Crown Jewels in official portraits, although she occasionally wore them in private paintings.

Louis-Philippe Amalia and Maria Amalia came to power after the July Revolution of 1830, which became known as the July Revolution. three gloryestablished a constitutional monarchy. Now is not the time for rulers to show off their glittering glory;

“Violence in France continues, which is why Louis-Philippe wants France to reconcile with its past. That means he and his wife have to behave forward-thinking and not as though they are returning to a form of absolute monarchy,” Dagent said. “It was important to both of them not to display the crown jewels in public, which could be seen as a provocation.”

Even so, Maria Amalia purchased the jewelry as a financial investment and wore them during ceremonies. But what she treasured most were “sentimental jewels” – pieces containing locks of hair or portraits of her many descendants. She reportedly owns about 40 of these “portrait bracelets.”

However, other queens whose jewels were stolen had different missions. Under their leadership, France, after the failed reign of the autocratic king Louis XVI, aspired to new glory—stronger, more unified, and more modern. The glittering crown is back.

Among Dargent’s favorites was the Empress Eugenie, a progressive figure of her time. The wife of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (who seized power in a coup in 1852 and was crowned Napoleon III), she ruled as empress from 1853 to 1870. “During the Second Empire, there was a desire to revive old royal splendor, which is why it was important that Empress Eugenie wore these jewels in an official capacity,” said Dargent. To that end, she “talked about her ‘political dress’ as part of her established role, and the same applies to her jewelry,” he added.

Eugenie was an opinionated, independent woman who was often cheated on by her husband, but she didn’t hesitate to express her opinions. She served as regent during Dargent’s absence during the war in 1870 and proved herself politically savvy—although, Dargent noted, “she was sometimes criticized for speaking too much.” She also supported women artists and embraced modernity. Although her jewelry had symbolic value, they had little personal value to her. When the city of Paris offered her a diamond necklace, she refused and instead used the funds to build an orphanage in the shape of a diamond necklace: Maison Eugène Napoleon.

Another monarch whose jewels were taken away from her was Empress Marie-Louise (1791-1847), who reigned from 1810 to 1814 and replaced Empress Josephine as the wife of Napoleon I due to her inability to produce an heir. As a political bride, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, her marriage briefly stabilized relations between France and Austria.

To commemorate the marriage, Napoleon gave her a necklace designed by jeweler Nitot, consisting of 32 emeralds, 1,138 diamonds, and matching earrings – all of which had been stolen in a recent robbery. The Louvre acquired the work in 2004 for $4 million with the support of donors.

Queen Marie Louise “had a lot of success with men, and one might say she was not very loyal to the emperor, but he loved her very much,” Dargent said. As for her taste in jewelry, privately, the Queen also prefers jewelry that has sentimental value.

Finally, Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837), Queen of the Netherlands from 1806 to 1810 when the Netherlands was part of the French Empire, was the daughter of Queen Josephine and Alexandre Francois Marie, Viscount Beauharnais, who was beheaded during the First French Revolution. Napoleon arranged for his adopted daughter to marry his brother, King Louis Bonaparte. Their son later became Napoleon III.

Hortense was the original owner of the sapphire jewelry, which she later sold to Queen Maria Amalia for financial reasons. Legend has it that it was a gift from her mother Josephine, but the Louvre notes that there is no documentary evidence to support this claim or, as some believe, that Marie Antoinette ever owned it.

After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, Hortense went into exile and eventually gave birth to an illegitimate son with his lover, Count Frau. But that’s another story.