Crown of Napoleon
sometimes called the Charlemagne Crown after the original crown of that name destroyed during the French Revolution.
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Origins
The French Revolution of the 1790s had led to the destruction of most of the ancient French Crown Jewels along with the eventual abolution of the French monarchy and the execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.
When Napoleon I declared himself French Emperor a decade later he decided to create a new imperial regalia, the centre piece of which was his Charlemagne crown.
Usage
In the coronation itself, which took place not in the traditional location of French royal coronations, the Cathedral in Reims, but in Notre Dame in Paris , he actually used two crowns. Initially he placed a laurel crown of the Roman emperors on his own head. (see image below) Afterward he briefly placed the imperial Charlemagne crown on his head, then touched it to the head of his empress, Josephine.
Design
As was the norm with European crowns, Napoleon's crown is made up for eight half-arches which meet at a golden globe, on top of which is placed a crucifix.
painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1806.
The crown itself is mock mediæval in style, reliant totally on gold and metallic decoration and devoid of the major covering with diamonds and jewels fashionable in crowns made later in the 19th century.
After the Empire
The Crown of Napoleon was used up until his second overthrow in 1815. King Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, was installed on the throne as King of France following Napoleon's overthrow. In contrast both to his brother and to Napoleon, the new king opted not to have a coronation. When his brother, Charles X became king in 1824 he reinstated the traditional monarchical coronation in Reims and was crowned using the remaining pre-revolutionary French royal crown, the Crown of Louis XV. No more French coronations, either imperial or royal, followed Charles X's overthrow in 1830.
When Napoleon III proclaimed himself French emperor in 1852 he opted not to have a coronation nor to wear Napoleon I's crown. Nevertheless a crown was specially created for Empress Eugenie, the Crown of Empress Eugenie.
Bokassa, the first and last Central African Emperor, wore a crown similar to Napoleon's (see image).
Sale of the French Crown Jewels
In the 1885, to impede any further attempts at royal or imperial restorations, the French National Assembly opted to sell most of the French Crown Jewels. Only a handful of crowns were kept for historic reasons, and they had their precious jewels replaced in them by decorated glass. Napoleon I's crown was one of the few kept. It is now on display in the Louvre museum in Paris.