My latest article: Carl XIV Johan's coronation 200 years ago

200 years ago today, Carl XIV Johan was crowned King of Norway in Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, which was, for many reasons, a remarkable event. For one thing, Carl Johan, the former revolutionary general Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, did not have a drop of blue blood in his vein. Carl Johan did nothing to deny this and rather based his legitimacy on his military deeds, which had paved his way to the thrones of Norway and Sweden.
In the new issue of Aftenposten Historie (no 8 - 2018), Norway's largest history magazine, I write about how this came to be expressed at his coronation and in the crown jewels Carl Johan commissioned for his coronation, including the sword he had carried in the battle where he helped defeat his great rival Napoléon.

My latest articles: Danish crown jewels and Prince Henrik's travails

My article series about crown jewels continues in the November issue of Majesty (Vol. 38, No. 11), which is now on sale in Norway as well as in Britain. The third and final installment of the series deals with the Danish crown jewels, and in the same issue I also look at this summer's great royal "scandal", when Prince Henrik of Denmark, shortly before he was diagnosed with senile dementia, announced his refusal to be buried with his wife of fifty years, Queen Margrethe II, in Roskilde Cathedral unless she makes him King Consort. I also look at the historical background for his demand for the title of King Consort, which is actually not so far-fetched as many seem to believe, nor is it the idea of a demented mind.

My latest articles: Norwegian crown jewels and Mohammed bin Salman

Court intrigues are always fun, and in the October issue of Majesty (Vol. 38, No. 10) I write about the latest developments in the ongoing struggle for the Saudi succession and the new Crown Prince, 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, who ousted his cousin Mohammed bin Nayef in what amounted to a palace coup this summer and now seems set to rule the world's most powerful monarchy for perhaps fifty years or more.
In the same issue my series on crown jewels continues with an article on the Norwegian ones, which, although mostly made in Sweden, have been symbols of Norway's independence for nearly two centuries.
The magazine is already on sale in Britain and will hit the shops in Norway on Thursday of this week.

My lastest article: Swedish crown jewels and the mother-in-law of Europe

In the September issue of Majesty I embark on a new series on crown jewels, starting with the exquisite Swedish ones, which are the oldest of an extant monarchy. The series will continue next month with the Norwegian crown jewels.
In the same issue I also write about Queen Louise of Denmark, the consort of King Christian IX, an influential lady who arranged dynastic marriages in the mistaken belief that they would prevent wars. Known as "the mother-in-law of Europe", she was also the mother-in-law from hell, at least for her daughter-in-law Louise.
The magazine is already in sale in Britain and will go on sale in Norway on the coming Thursday, which happens to be the bicentenary of Queen Louise's birth.

My latest article: Crown-wearings

The May issue of the British monthly magazine Majesty (Vol. 37, No. 5) was published on Thursday, the ninetieth birthday of Europe's only crowned monarch, and contains and article by me about crown-wearings. Nowadays the British State Opening of Parliament, which this year will take place on 18 May, is the only time apart from a coronation when a crown is actually worn and Queen Elizabeth II puts on the crown as if it were a hat, but in the middle ages, crown-wearings were in themselves a solemn ritual. Kings wore crowns on the great religious feast days to stress not only their power and sacred elevation but their likeness to Jesus and crowns were placed on the monarchs' heads by high prelates in a ritual based on coronations. The article explores the roots of crown-wearings, how the ritual fell into abeyance and how the tradition of wearing a crown to Parliament was revived by King George V in 1913.

My latest article (and a radio documentary): The Sword of State and Carl XIV Johan's legitimacy

The most interesting item among the Norwegian Crown Regalia is in my opinion the Sword of State, which the then Crown Prince Carl Johan of Sweden carried in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, when he played an important part in defeating his great rival and former master, Emperor Napoléon I. The victory of Leipzig again paved the way for his conquest of Norway the following year, an achievement which meant that he succeeded at what generations of Swedish kings had failed at.
As Carl XIV Johan could not lay claim to any blue blood, he used to say that he built his legitimacy on his sword, in other words his military achievements. He could not have made this any clearer than when he became King in 1818 and gave the sword from Leipzig to Norway to serve as the kingdom's Sword of State and had it engraved with allegories (now almost entirely destroyed) which represented both the peaceful union of the two nations and his programme for the union.
About this I have written an article which appears in the 2014 edition of Trondhjemske Samlinger, the yearbook of Trondhjems Historiske Forening (the Historical Assocation of Trondheim), which was published earlier this month, and NRK's programme "Museum" has made a radio documentary featuring me and Steinar Bjerkestrand, the director of the Restoration Workshop of Nidaros Cathedral, that will be broadcast on P2 at 4.03 p.m. tomorrow and at 8.03 a.m. on Sunday and which is already available as a podcast (external link).

After 850 years, a female archbishop of Sweden

The King and Queen of Sweden, accompanied by Crown Princess Victoria, were present in Uppsala Cathedral on Sunday for the installation of Antje Jackelén as Archbishop, the first female Archbishop in Swedish history.
Jackelén, who has until now been Bishop of Lund and was elected Archbishop last autumn, succeeds Anders Wejryd, who has held the archiepiscopate for eight years and performed his last official duty when he baptised Princess Leonore last Sunday.
Jackelén becomes Archbishop of Sweden in the year that that office celebrates the 850th anniversary of its founding by Pope Alexander III. Among the events to mark this jubilee is the exhibition "Himlen är här" ("Heaven is here"), which is held in Uppsala Cathedral this summer. Among the items exhibited is, interestingly, St Erik's crown, which has been removed from the late king's shrine while his bones undergo various tests. This is therefore a unique opportunity to see the only medieval royal crown that has been preserved in Scandinavia.

Coronation commemorated sixty years on

Yesterday Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was present at a service of thanksgivings at Westminster Abbey in London which, two days late, celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of her coronation in that church on 2 June 1953.
To mark the occasion the crown which she was crowned with, St Edward’s Crown, was taken out from the Tower of London for the first time in sixty years and placed on the altar with the ampulla used for anointing the monarch. Together two items symbolised the two most important parts of the coronation ceremony: the crowning and the anointing.
St Edward’s Crown is only used for the crowning, and before the monarch leaves Westminster Abbey it is replaced by the Imperial State Crown, which is also the crown the monarch wears for the State Opening of Parliament. The reason for this is that the original St Edward’s Crown was assumed to have actually belonged to Edward the Confessor and was therefore treated like a relic which should never leave his burial church. This crown was destroyed when England was a republic (1649-1660), while a new St Edward’s Crown was made after the restoration of the monarchy for the coronation of Charles II. Although the current St Edwards’s Crown is not original and even though it is no longer kept in Westminster Abbey, but in the Tower of London, the tradition of two crowns is upheld (the exception being Edward VII, who had just undergone a rather serious operation and was crowned with the lighter Imperial State Crown in 1902).
Queen Elizabeth was joined at the service by her husband Prince Philip, who is apparently suffering from a cold and had missed an engagement the previous night. Also present were the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Duke of York and his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugnie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their daughter, Lady Louise Wessex, the Princess Royal with her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, her children Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips and her children-in-law Autumn Phillips and Mike Tindall, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael. Princess Alexandra is ill and did not attend.

Princess Lilian lies in state

There were long queues outside the Royal Palace in Stockholm today as the much-loved Princess Lilian lay in state in the Palace Church, which was open to the public from noon till 3 p.m. The closed coffin, as is the tradition in Northern Europe, was draped in the royal standard and surmounted by Princess Eugénie’s crown. From 4 p.m. family and others with a personal connection to the Princess paid their respects at the lying-in-state. Among them were King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and his girlfriend Sofia Hellqvist, Princess Madeleine and her fiancé Christopher O’Neill, Princess Birgitta, Princess Margaretha, Princess Christina and Tord Magnuson. The funeral will take place at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

My latest article: The Crown Prince’s crown

The 2011 edition (yes, they are a year behind schedule) of Trondhjemske Samlinger, the yearbook of Trondhjems Historiske Forening, is now out and, in succession to my article on the crowns of the King and Queen in the previous issue, I have contributed an article about the history and context of the Crown Prince’s crown.
It is the only part of the crown regalia made in Norway and the only item which has never been used. The crown was designed by the artist Johannes Flintoe and made by the jeweller Herman Colbjørnsen Øyset in 1846-1847 for the planned coronation of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine (which eventually never happened).
At subsequent coronations there was never an adult Crown Prince to wear it and as there has, thankfully, never been a crown princely funeral it has also not been used in the same ceremonial way as the King and Queen’s crowns. The crown was inspired by Swedish ideals and is almost unique in Europe, where crowns for the heir to the throne are a rarity.
The photo (which is copyright of myself) shows Flintoe’s original drawing for the crown (in the National Archives), which I believe has never before been published.

What to see: The funerary regalia of Gustaf I, Johan III and their queens, Uppsala

The Swedes have a penchant for opening the graves of their monarchs, a practice which is perhaps ethically debatable, but has, on the other hand, provided much of interest for scientist, historians and art historians, including the chance to see the regalia with which past kings and queens were buried.
The largest collection is to be found in the treasury of Uppsala Cathedral, housed in one of the great church’s towers, where one may view the regalia from the graves of King Gustaf I and his three wives as well as King Johan III and his two wives.
Before his death in 1560, King Gustaf I (in recent years popularly but unhistorically known as “Gustaf Vasa”) had chosen the Chapel of Our Lady behind the high altar in Uppsala Cathedral as the place of his burial. His coffin was taken there together with those of his first two wives, Catharina (of Saxe-Lauenburg) and Margareta (Leijonhufvud), who died in 1535 and 1551 respectively and had until then rested in the Cathedral of Stockholm. Atop the coffins were life-size wax effigies, each wearing royal regalia which were buried with the king and queens.
King Gustaf’s crown is of gilt silver and very simple. For his coronation the following year, Gustaf’s eldest son, Erik XIV, ordered a sumptuous new crown (which remains the royal crown of Sweden), which, together with the funerary crowns of his parents and stepmother, marks the introduction of arched crowns in Sweden as opposed to the older open crowns. However, these three crowns, and in particular that of the King, look like the crown ring and the arches do not really belong together. The two queens’ crowns are made by the Stockholm goldsmith Hans Rosenfelt, while the maker of Gustaf I’s crown is unknown. Rosenfelt also made the three identical sceptres of gilt silver for King Gustaf, Queen Catharina and Queen Margareta. The three crowns may be seen in the first photo, while the second shows the sceptres.
Gustaf I’s third wife, Queen Catharina (Stenbock), outlived him by 61 years and it was consequently only in 1621, by which all his sons were dead and Sweden was well into the reign of his grandson Gustaf II Adolf, the last male of the Swedish Vasa dynasty, that she was buried in Uppsala Cathedral. From her grave one has removed a small and unfortunately rather damaged crown of pearls held together by silver thread (third photo), which the long-lived queen may well have worn during her lifetime (one is almost reminded of the small diamond crown made for Queen Victoria of Britain in 1870).
The funerary regalia of Gustaf I’s second son, the art-loving King Johan III, who died in 1592, and his wives are more elaborate than those of the previous generations. King Johan’s funerary crown is of pure gold and set with real emerald and almandines, a sort of garnets, while his sceptre and orb are both of gold set with almandines. The funerary crown of his first wife, Catharina Jagellonica, is also of gold and set with sapphires, pearls and almandines, but, rather economically, undecorated on those parts of the crown which would not be visible when the crown was worn by a dead body lying in a coffin. These two crowns are pictured in the fourth photo, while the fifth shows the sceptres of Johan III and his two wives as well as the King’s orb.
Queen Catherina’s sceptre is one of the most unusual items among the funerary regalia and was probably used by her already during her lifetime. It is made of agate and ebony wood and has a handle of gold set with turquoises and almandines. On its top are a large amethyst and a somewhat smaller sapphire, while an amethyst is also found at the bottom of the sceptre. The regalia of Johan III’s second wife, Queen Gunilla (Bielke), are much simpler, comprising a crown (sixth photo), a sceptre and an orb, all of them of undecorated gilt silver.
There are also two swords among the Vasa regalia, one made in Germany around 1540 which belonged to Gustaf I and has an engraving of Adam and Eve in gilt silver on its scabbard (seventh photo), and a simpler one which belonged to Johan III.
It seems the Vasa graves in Uppsala Cathedral were rarely left in peace, and that visitors were allowed to view not only the tombs, but the coffins and even the remains themselves. The coffins were opened on a number of occasions and in 1856 the funerary regalia of Johan III and his wives were permanently removed to be put on display in the Cathedral. Later the regalia of Gustaf I and his wives have also been removed from the coffins and now form part of the collections to be seen in the Cathedral’s treasury.
Today the funerary regalia of Queen Maria Eleonora, the widow of Gustaf II Adolf, are apparently the only ones left in their grave, while those of other kings and queens may be seen in cathedrals and museums. The tradition of burying Swedish kings and queens with regalia came to an end with King Carl XI and his wife Ulrika Eleonora the Elder, who decreed that no such regalia should be made for them.
The only piece of funerary regalia subsequently made is the crown made for the funeral of Dowager Queen Lovisa Ulrika in 1782, but this was not buried with her and remains in use for the funerals of Swedish kings and queens, most recently the funeral of King Gustaf VI Adolf in 1973.

New books: A stunning book on the British crown jewels

When Queen Elizabeth II of Britain recently visited Westminster Abbey she was shown the Coronation Chair, which was being restored, and remarked that she had not actually seen it since sitting in it on 2 June 1953. With Elizabeth II in the second half of her eighties, the Coronation Chair being restored is of course a sign of the fact that the next British coronation is approaching. Perhaps this is also the context in which one should see the publication of a two-volume, scholarly work on the British crown jewels in 2008 and now another book on the same topic aiming at a more general public.
The Crown Jewels by historian Anna Keay, who is curatorial director of English Heritage, was published by Thames & Hudson in cooperation with the Royal Collection and Historic Royal Palaces at the end of last year and is a stunningly beautiful book in its design and choice of high-quality illustrations.
They include many paintings showing the splendours of past state occasions, but also other historical illustrations as well as close-up photographs of the items in the crown jewels collection, whole pieces as well as details. A clever touch has been to bring together several items of regalia to be photographed together for comparison, for instance the crowns of Queens Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth, or the Imperial State Crown from 1937 alongside the now empty frames of the state crowns from 1838 and 1714.
The well-written text takes the reader on a chronological journey through the history of British crown jewels and regalia, starting with the so-called “Mill Hill warrior”, the body of an Iron Age king dating to 200-150 BC who was found by archaeologists in 1988, wearing on his head the earliest known English crown.
Three chapters are dedicated to early English regalia, but it is a sad fact that the 12th century coronation spoon is the only medieval item in the collection. The other older crown jewels were melted down when the country became a republic following the execution of Charles I in 1649.
New regalia thus had to be made when his son Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and Keay points out how one was so keen to link these new regalia to their lost medieval predecessors that one recreated even pieces one did not know what were supposed to be used for.
Several pieces have been added also in the centuries following the restoration and they are all covered by this book. Sadly, several grand pieces are no longer in existence or survive simply as empty frames, such as the dazzling all-diamond crown commissioned by George IV for his coronation in 1821, which was set with hired jewels subsequently returned to the jeweller.
Other pieces have fallen into disuse, such as the crown made for James II’s wife, Mary of Modena, which William IV’s Queen Adelaide thought unsuitable for use. Every queen consort since then has had a new crown made for her, although Queen Mary had intended that the exquisite crown she had made in 1911 should be the permanent crown of queens consort. However, when it became clear that she intended to attend the coronation of her son George VI in 1937 and wear that crown (without its arches), a new crown had to be made for her daughter-in-law Elizabeth.
The book also deals with the items which are not strictly speaking regalia, but are kept with them in the Tower and thus counted as crown jewels, such as the splendid tableware used for the coronation banquets, baptismal fonts and other items intended for the royal chapels, processional swords and maces. Thus the book also serves as some sort of splendid catalogue of the items one will see on a visit to the Tower of London.
“While the Crown Jewels are unquestionably impressive in their own right [...] it is their use at great ceremonial occasions that gives them their real power. The objects in the collection were not designed to be viewed in the solitary splendour of a glass case, but to play in the ensemble orchestra of royal ritual”, the author observes on the penultimate page of the book. My only objection to this book is precisely that it does not say much about the actual use of the crown jewels.
For instance, Keay does note that St Edward’s crown, until then used for the actual crowning but replaced with the state crown before the monarch left the Abbey, ceased to be used by the early eighteenth century, a practice which was only revived by George V in 1911. But otherwise we hear little about the regalia’s use for other occasions than coronations.
My first “personal acquaintance” with the British regalia was seeing the crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother resting on top of her coffin at her lying-in-state in Westminster Hall. But although Keay tells us that St Edward’s crown was placed on the coffin of Edward VII, Queen Victoria’s small diamond crown on hers and a replica of the state crown on Charles II’s the reader is left to wonder if crowns being placed on royal coffins have been a common practice and if so for how long.
Similarly one may wonder how old the tradition of wearing the crown at state openings of parliament is. The current practice dates only to George V and 1913, but was this the invention of a tradition or had crowns been worn to Parliament by earlier monarchs?
A more thorough treatment of the use of the regalia than just a word here and there would have served to bring the regalia to life, so to speak, and also give a fuller picture of their symbolical and ceremonial meaning.

Oscar II’s princely crown and Order of Seraphim for Princess Estelle

In little over an hour the christening of Princess Estelle of Sweden will take place in the Palace Church in Stockholm. Already in place next to the magnificent silver baptismal font is the crown which symbolises the Princess’s royal rank, a tradition which goes back to the christening of the future King Gustaf IV Adolf in 1778.
Very unusually, Sweden has crown not only for the King and Queen, but also for the Crown Prince and for princes and princesses. The first princely crowns were made for the 1772 coronation of Gustaf III, but as the royal family grew, new crowns had to be acquired up until 1902. Princess Estelle is direct heir to the throne, but not first in line, so the crown used today is not the crown princely crown, as when the then Crown Prince Carl Philip was baptised in 1979, but Oscar II’s princely crown. This crown was made by court jeweller Marc Giron for the then Prince Oscar to be worn at the coronation of his parents, King Oscar I and Queen Josephina, in 1844. At the time Prince Oscar was Duke of Ostrogothia, the same dukedom which was bestowed on Princess Estelle the day after her birth.
Also placed on a blue velvet cushion next to the font is the Order of Seraphim, which Princess Estelle will be given today. This signifies a return to the tradition whereby princes in the line of succession were given the royal orders at their christening.
However, when the new Constitution was introduced in 1974, the award of orders to Swedish citizens, including the royal family, was banned. This remained in force until 1995, when an exception were made for members of the royal family, and meant that no orders were given at the christenings of King Carl Gustaf’s children.

My latest article: The crowns of the King and Queen

The 2010 edition of Trondheim Historical Association’s yearbook Trondhjemske Samlinger has finally been published and in it you may find an article I have written about the origins and ceremonial use of the crowns of the King and Queen. The article is based on research in Norwegian and Swedish archives, where I have found a lot of previously unused material.
For instance I am now able to say fairly certainly why the coronation of Queen Desideria, planned for the late summer of 1830, was suddenly cancelled; to show that the King’s crown most likely made it first appearance at the funeral of Carl XIII rather than at the coronation of Carl XIV Johan, as the official version now says; and to prove that it is not correct that the Queen’s crown unlike the King’s has never been used for funerals.
Some related “side questions” are also addressed, among them if it is correct when one often reads that Queen Lovisa - the first queen to be crowned in Norway since 1299 - unlike her predecessors was a Lutheran. And what happened to the tiara worn by Queen Sophia for her coronation in 1873?
The photo, which is a facsimile of the now defunct Swedish weekly Vecko-Journalen, shows the King’s crown on King Haakon VII’s coffin at his lying-in-state in the Palace Chapel in September 1957.

New books: Ceremonial headgear

After several years’ delay the Dutch goldsmith René Brus has at last finished his long-awaited book Crown Jewellery and Regalia of the World, which was published by Pepin Press of Amsterdam earlier this month.
This is a monumental book based on a lifetime’s passion for crowns, an interest which has apparently taken Brus to many a distant country in order to study crowns or witness ceremonial events. The result is not, he stresses in the preface, an encyclopaedia of regalia, but “an attempt to show that crowns can be found everywhere, in any form and design”.
This Brus certainly succeeds in doing, as he does not limit himself to royal crowns, which the somewhat misleading title might indicate, but covers a wide range of ceremonial headgear, including tiaras, votive crowns, mitres, beauty queen tiaras, various headdresses worn for religious and tribal rituals and much more. Africa and Asia are the continents which figure most prominently in this book while Britain and the Netherlands are the European countries most closely studied. There are some surprising omissions, such as the splendid crown regalia of Bavaria, which are not mentioned once.
One cannot help being impressed by the enormous effort Brus has laid down through many years to document so many crowns of different types from far away corners of the earth and to supply the readers with photos (although not all of them of the best quality, he admits). But on the other hand I could also not help feeling that he tries to cram too much into one book, which is also arranged in a rather disorderly manner.
The sequence of the chapters does not feel entirely natural – why “Royal children and marks of rank” before “Coronations”? Why is there suddenly a photo of Queen Sophia of Sweden and of Norway’s malachite parure, which has never been worn for any wedding, in the chapter titled “Royal and aristocratic weddings”?
Despite René Brus’s expert knowledge there are also several mistakes to be found in this book. The book opens with a disclaimer saying that “Every effort has been made to ensure that all information and original names are accurate. However, due to the historical and langual [sic] ambiguities inherent to the subject matter, the author and editor are not in the position to guarantee, with absolute certainty, the historical information provided”.
But if every effort had really been made, one would certainly have avoided such basic mistakes as referring to Britain as “England” throughout (there are no kings or queens of England since 1707, nor is there an “English Parliament”) and to the Bernadottes as kings simply of Sweden during the near-decade when they were kings also of Norway. His statement that “Norway’s Crown Prince has a crown that was actually made for the Swedish Crown Prince” is certainly nonsense – the crown was made for in Norway and paid for by the Norwegian Parliament to be worn by Norwegian crown princes at Norwegian coronations. But later on, Brus writes that Norway “became an independent kingdom” only in 1905, so he is obviously ignorant of the basic facts about the nature of the union between the two kingdoms.
He goes on to say that the Norwegian King’s crown was made by Adolf Zethelius, although it is now two decades since it was established that it was actually made by Olof Wihlborg (the most recent book on the Norwegian crown regalia, which was also published in English in 2006, is not included in Brus’s list of sources). He also maintains that Queen Desideria was not crowned in Norway “as her husband King Oscar I was never crowned as King of Norway”, although Oscar I was in fact her son. Her husband, Carl XIV Johan (whom Brus calls “Carl XIV”), was crowned in Norway and there were other reasons why Desideria’s coronation never took place.
Concerning Sweden, Brus writes that the crowns of both king and queen “were present at the accession ceremony of King Carl XVI Gustaf on 18 [actually 19] September 1973 and at his wedding in 1976”, although only the King’s crown was present at the enthronement (at which time Sweden had no queen). Regarding Denmark he states that “the coronation crown of King Frederik III, made in 1665” was used for Frederik IX’s lying-in-state in 1972 although there is no such crown and the crown actually used was Christian V’s, which is pictured on the same page of the book.
The regalia of the Scandinavian countries are those I am most familiar with and when noticing so many mistakes and misunderstandings concerning them, I cannot help wondering if I can trust the information about the regalia of those countries I am less familiar with. The result is that I have mixed feelings about this book, which it seems is not as reliable as such a great work, the fruit of decades of work, ought to be.

Royal jewels: Empress Eugénie’s crown

The regalia used for Emperor Napoléon I’s and Empress Joséphine’s spectacular coronation in 1804 were nearly all destroyed following the downfall of the First Empire and the restoration of the Bourbons. Despite reintroducing the Empire in 1852, Napoléon III never got around to be crowned, but for the Universal Exhibition which was held in Paris in 1855 he ordered crowns to be made for himself and Empress Eugénie.
The Emperor’s crown, which judged by its representation in contemporary paintings had a similar form, has since been lost, while the Empress’s crown is to my knowledge the only preserved crown of a French consort.
Executed by the imperial court jeweler Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier, assisted by J.-P. Maheu, Auguste Fannière and Joseph Fannière, it is made of gold adorned with 2,490 diamonds (1,354 brilliant-cut and 1,1136 rose-cut diamonds) and 56 emeralds. The small crown, which is 12.5 centimetres high and has a diameter of fifteen centimetres, was based on the crowns featured in the arms of the First as well as the Second Empire. The most obvious symbolism is the eight imperial eagles situated between the crown’s arches.
As she was not crowned, Empress Eugénie apparently never actually wore the crown, but it was used ceremonially and also appeared in paintings, such as Franz Xavier Winterhalter’s famous state portrait of the Empress (detail above).
While a large amount of the Crown Diamonds was used for the Emperor’s crown, only a few were used for the Empress’s crown. Thus the crown was apparently deemed private property and following the downfall of the Second Empire in 1870 it was restored to the widowed ex-Empress by the French Republic.
The ex-Empress outlived the Empire for no less than fifty years, dying in Madrid in 1920, aged 94. I believe the crown was inherited by her goddaughter, Countess Louise-Eugénie von Moltke-Huitfeldt, née Patterson-Bonaparte, whose descendants later sold it.
The crown was presented to the Louvre by Mr and Mrs Roberto Polo in 1988 and is now exhibited in the Apollo Gallery.

Swedish crowns and some wedding details

The online edition of Dagbladet has an interesting article by Astrid Meland about which Swedish crown will be assigned to the future Prince Daniel. Since the death of the last crowned King of Sweden, Oscar II, in 1907, crowns are no longer worn, but displayed during ceremonies such as christenings, weddings and funerals. The crown assigned to Daniel Westling will therefore be placed on or next to the altar of Stockholm’s Cathedral during the wedding on 19 June, together with the crown princely crown.
There are four princely crowns kept in the Treasury in Stockholm and members of the staff speculate that Prince Wilhelm’s crown (made in 1902) may be assigned to Daniel Westling as it is the newest and thus less prestigious. Alternatively they suggest Prince Fredrik Adolf’s crown (made in 1772), but seem to think that the crowns made for Prince Carl (1772) and Prince Oscar (1844) are less likely as these two princes went on to become kings (as Carl XIII and Oscar II).
I am not sure if I follow the logic of this – Daniel Westling will indeed not become king, but he will become prince consort and thereby the first gentleman of the realm, which in my opinion would be a very good reason not to assign him the “least prestigious” crown. The “most prestigious” of the princely crowns would according to this thinking be Prince Carl’s, which was most recently used for the funeral of Prince Bertil in 1997.
The article also provides an interesting piece of news about the wedding itself. Nina Eldh, the head of the Swedish Royal Court’s information department, says that it will be “an afternoon wedding” followed by a cortege and a dinner. This is a departure from the wedding of the current King and Queen in 1976, which took place earlier in the day and was followed by a cortege and a lunch. In 1976 the dress code was morning coats or uniforms for men, long dresses and hats for women, but with an afternoon wedding and a dinner, the dress code will most likely be white tie or uniform for the gentlemen and long dresses and tiaras for the ladies.

http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/03/02/magasinet/kongelig/kongehuset/sverige/10650902/

Book news: Some expected books in 2010

A new year has dawned and that offers a good opportunity to take a look at some of the books which can be expected in 2010.
Among them are several which have been postponed from last year, such as Carl-Erik Grimstad’s Dronning Mauds arv (“Queen Maud’s Inheritance”), which is due in March; Jennifer Scott’s The Royal Portrait: Image and Impact (expected in April); Anne Somerset’s Queen Anne: A Biography (also April); and Jane Ridley’s Bertie: A Biography of Edward VII. Rene Brus’s book Crown Jewellery and Regalia of the World, which has already been postponed several times since 2008, was recently postponed yet again and is now expected in October 2010.
For the Swedish royals it will be a momentous year with the bicentenary of the Bernadottes’ arrival and two weddings to be celebrated. As earlier mentioned tabloid journalist Johan T. Lindwall is writing (although he denies it) Victoria – Prinsessan privat (“Victoria: The Princess in Private”) about the Crown Princess (expected in March) and the historian Stig Hadenius will release Drottning Victoria av Sverige – Om kärlek, plikt och politik (“Queen Victoria of Sweden: On Love, Duty and Politics”) about the consort of Gustaf V in April. The weddings will as previously reported also be the occasion for a book on royal weddings, En brud för kung och fosterland – Kungliga svenska bröllop från Gustav Vasa till Carl XVI Gustaf (“A Bride for King and Country: Swedish Royal Weddings from Gustav Vasa to Carl XVI Gustaf”), by Lena Rangström (expected in early March), and an official wedding book by Susanna Popova, due out a month after the Crown Princess’s June wedding.
The Bernadottes came to Sweden after the sudden death of Crown Prince Carl August, the former Prince Christian August of Augustenburg, in 1810. The 200th anniversary of his death will be the occasion for a biography by American historian Lee Sather. The Napoleonic Wars in the Nordic countries will also be covered in the Russian historian Vadim V. Roginskij’s Kampen om Norden – Internationella relationer i Norden 1805-1815 (“The Struggle for Scandinavia: International Relations in the Nordic Region 1805-1815”).
In Sweden we will also see the publication of the second volume on Drottningholm in the series on the Swedish royal palaces; Moa Matthis’s biography of the wife of Gustaf II Adolf and mother of Queen Christina, Maria Eleonora – Drottningen som sa nej (“Maria Eleonora: The Queen Who Said No”); and the book Monarki vs. republik, where Per Svensson argues the case for a republic and P. J. Anders Linder defends the monarchy.
The Danish royal family will also have its share of celebrations in 2010. 28 March is the centenary of the birth of Queen Ingrid, which will be marked by a book by Roger Lundgren which will be published in both Denmark (People’s Press) and Sweden (Fischer) in March. In the same month Rosvall Royal Books will publish Ingrid, 1910-2000 by Randi Buchwaldt and Ted Rosvall (in Danish and English). Queen Ingrid’s gardens will be the subject of Blomsterdronningen - Dronning Ingrids slotshaver by John Henriksen.
Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday in April will be the occasion for Jesper Laursen’s Dronning Margrethe og arkæologien (“Queen Margrethe and Archaeology”) and Helle Bygum’s Et fantastisk liv – Dronning Margrethe 70 år (“A Wonderful Life: Queen Margrethe at 70”). Her husband, the Prince Consort, will be the subject of the journalist Stéphanie Surrugue’s Prins – Historien om Henrik (“Prince: The Story of Henrik”), to be published by Politikens Bogforlag in April. As Surrugue has been invited to several royal events recently, including Prince Joachim’s wedding, I guess this is a more or less authorised book.
In Norway the fifth volume of Tor Bomann-Larsen’s biography of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud will be published in the autumn, taking the story up to 7 June 1940, the day King Haakon had to leave Norway at the end of the campaign which followed the German invasion.

New books: The Swedish Crown Regalia

The Swedish Royal Collection has recently published a new book on the Crown Regalia, titled Skattkammaren – Kungliga slottet with text in Swedish, English, French, German and Russian.
The author, Ann-Christine Jernberg, works in the Royal Court’s information department and, as the five languages indicate, this book is mostly directed at tourists. The twelve crowns and the other items kept in the Treasury are briefly described, but the text offers no deeper perspectives and there are some very unnecessary mistakes.
This book’s greatest value lies in the large, clear photos of the items, most of them by the Royal Collection’s photographer Alexis Daflos. Some of them are however cropped in a rather unfortunate way. Among the illustrations are also some historical photos and reproductions of paintings.

What to see: The Imperial Furniture Collection, Vienna

Half hidden away in a backyard off the bustling shopping street Mariahilfestrasse is the Imperial Furniture Collection, a large museum dedicated to the pieces of furniture and loose items available to the Kaiserliches Hofmobiliendepot, founded by Empress Maria Theresia inn1747. With only the Viennese palaces permanently furnished, it fell to the Imperial Furniture Collection to equip the many other imperial residences when they were to be used, making this the Habsburg equivalent of Sweden’s Royal Collections Department (Kungliga Husgerådskammaren) with its roots in the 16th century.
The imperial collection has been supplemented with furniture from the post-imperial time, making this also a museum of the history of Austrian furniture and interiors up to the present date. But the imperial pieces are in majority. And they are many – 165,000 to be exact.
Among them are rococo chairs and a desk from the reign of Maria Theresia (first picture) and the funeral regalia including a replica of the Imperial Crown of Austria, made of brass, false pearls and glass stones (second picture). As the third photo shows, there is a huge number of chairs of all styles, including the throne of Emperor Franz Joseph I (fourth photo) and the two 18th century folding chairs for use on travels (photo 5). There are also whole interiors, such as an imperial bedroom from the reign of Ferdinand I (sixth photo), and one may also find row upon row of mirrors, chandeliers, vases etc. (last photo).
To make the collection come alive there are screens here and there showing excerpts from some of the many films which have been made about Empress Elisabeth where one can see how the original pieces of furniture were used in the films.

Official website:
http://www.hofmobiliendepot.at/en/home.html