The real star of Ridley Scott’s new epic, Napoleon, is Vanessa Kirby as the trendsetting empress. Dr Louisa Mackenzie on the jewels and dresses that underpinned Joséphine’s power
Dazzling diamond pieces for those with an April birthday Tatlerâs Jewellery Editor, Charlie Miller, showcases Aprilâs birthstone, the diamond, with 30 glittering pieces â one for each day of the month By Charlie Miller
After Josephineâs death, her younger son, Eugene, inherited the precious stones. Eugene became Duke of Leuchtenberg through marriage to Princess Augusta of Bavaria in 1806. It was when their son, Prince Maximilian, married the daughter of Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, that the two Imperial lines were reunited once more and Josephineâs briolettes were back with their Romanov roots.
Maximilian and Maria had seven children. Their son George married Princess Anastasia of Montenegro in 1889, and it was around this time that the well-travelled diamonds were included in the making of the
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The Swedish royal family, known as the House of Bernadotte, has an enviable collection of jewels in their vaults, many of which boast an esteemed provenance. But one particular set a matching tiara, necklace, earrings, and brooch known as the Cameo Parure stands out among the rest.
The parure, which in recent years has been worn by Queen Silvia, and, memorably, by Crown Princess Victoria on the day of her royal wedding, is characterized by a series of cameos, or individual carvings, which reference Greek mythology. This alone makes the jewels notable, as most tiaras and the like seen these days are set with diamonds and rubies and emeralds and any number of other precious stones, not cameos but the real intrigue behind the set lies with its original owner: Empress Joséphine, Napoleon Bonaparte s first wife.