Empress Josephine's Emerald & Diamond Tiara

Happy Tiara Tuesday! Today we bring you the splendid Empress Josephine Emerald Tiara, which is currently in the possession of Queen Sonja of Norway.

It is part of the Norwegian Emerald Parure, a set of jewelry also including a matching necklace, earrings and brooch, and is part of the Norwegian Royal family’s crown jewels.  The emeralds most likely originated in the emerald mines of Colombia and this tiara has a very long history from Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign in the 1800′s to today.

Of neo-classical design, it traces its roots all the way back to Emperor Napoelon Bonaparte’s wife, Empress Josephine. Neo-classical jewelry is inspired by the art from ancient Greece and Rome and is known for its use of symmetry and geometric shapes, which we see very clearly in this tiara. Napoleon Bonaparte was a great conqueror of lands but also a great patron of the arts. He commissioned two great jewelers, Marie Etienne Nitot, who had worked previously for the pre-revolution Bourbon monarchs of France, and his son, Francois Regnault, to fabricate this stunning tiara.

The tiara was a gift for Napoleon’s wife, Empress Josephine. After Napoleon and Josephine divorced because Josephine had not given him a son, Josephine kept all the jewels gifted to her by Napoleon, and the tiara was passed down to her son from a previous marriage Eugene de Beauharnais (1781-1824), the Prince of Venice, Viceroy of Italy and the first Duke of Leuchtenberg.

Although they divorced, Napoleon never got over his love for Josephine, and before he was exiled from France in 1815, he stopped by her gravesite. When he died on May 5th, 1821 his last word was “Josephine” and the locket around his neck contained violets from Josephine’s grave.

This tiara is still considered by some to be a symbol of Napoleon’s undying love for his wife and Queen, Josephine.

When the tiara passed to Eugene de Beauharnais, he gave the parure to his wife, Princess Augusta Amelia (1788-1851), the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, and the daughter of Maximilian I Joseph (1756-1825), the King of Bavaria. Eugene de Beauharnais and Augusta Amelia had seven children.

Princess Augusta Amelia passed the crown down to her 4th child, Princess Amelie (1812-1873) of Leuchtenberg who married Emperor Pedro I of Brazil in 1829.  Pedro I abdicated the crown of Brazil and reclaimed Portugal from his older brother, but died about four years after. Empress Amelie outlived him 39 years and when she fell ill her older sister, Queen Josephine of Sweden and Norway, came to care for her. When Empress Amelie died she passed her crown and most of her jewelry to her older sister Queen Josephine of Sweden and Norway.

The parure passed from Queen Josephine to her daughter-in-law Sofia of Sweden and Nassau, which eventually passed through the hands of Crown Princess Ingeborg of Denmark and Queen Martha of Norway.

This amazing tiara has quite a history! It is 209 years old and has been in at least six countries including France, Italy, Bavaria, Brazil, Portugal, Sweden, and Norway.

The current king of Norway is Harold V, who married the commoner Sonja Haraldsen in 1968 after being in love and secretly dating her for nine years. They were able to marry after parliament gave its approval, granting Sonja the title of Her Royal Highness and the Crown Princess of Norway. The tiara passed from Queen Martha to Queen Sonja after Sonja’s marriage to King Harold, and she has worn it beautifully to a number of formal occasions.

The Empress Josephine Emerald Tiara and the rest of the parure are timeless and stunning pieces, which Queen Sonja wears perfectly! Check out her perfect tiara hair (not to mention the best facial expression)!

Hopefully she will continue to wear it around so we can see more of it, because such a beautiful set deserves to be seen!

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful Tiara Tuesday!