Several extremely valuable objects were stolen on Sunday morning from the Apollo Gallery in the world’s largest museum. All of them belonged to Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily, Hortense de Beauharnais, and Eugénie de Montijo, queens of France.
The French Crown Jewels stolen on the morning of Sunday, October 19th, all belonged to 19th-century sovereigns: the tiara, necklace, and earrings from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense; the necklace and earrings from the emerald set of Empress Marie-Louise; the large corsage bow of Empress Eugénie; a reliquary brooch; and the tiara of Empress Eugénie.
A ninth object, the crown of Empress Eugénie, was abandoned during the criminals’ escape, and its condition is “under examination,” the Ministry of Culture detailed in a statement, describing a break-in that was “particularly quick and brutal” in the Apollo Gallery, where these pieces of jewelry of “priceless heritage value” were exhibited. They were displayed in cases, grouped by period.
Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily (1782-1866) was the niece of Queen Marie-Antoinette of France (1755-1793), through her mother Queen Marie-Caroline of Naples. She was also the aunt of Empress Marie-Louise (1791-1847), the second wife of Napoleon I. Duchess of Orléans through her marriage in 1809 to Louis-Philippe, she became Queen of the French—the only one to hold this title, from 1830 to 1848—when her husband ascended the throne on August 9, 1830, following the Three Glorious Days (July 27, 28, and 29, 1830) and the fall of Charles X.