Happy Birthday to Alix, Princess Napoléon, who celebrates her 99th Birthday today! The elegant French Aristocrat who married the Napoléonic Pretender and is the grandmother of the current Head of the House of Napoléon, Princess Napoléon wore some splendid jewels, which were highlighted by her striking Sapphire Necklace Tiara!
By the time Alix de Foresta married Prince Napoléon in 1949, Queen Marie Henriette’s Pearl Tiara belonging to her mother-in-law, Princess Clémentine of Belgium, seems to have been sold, and instead the new Princess Napoléon wore this modern Sapphire and Diamond Tiara of unknown origin, which can also be worn as a Necklace or taken apart to be worn as brooches.
Princess Napoléon most notably wore the striking Sapphire and Diamond Tiara for a series of portraits taken for Paris March in the spring of 1968.
The Sapphire and Diamond Tiara was worn by the Princess Napoléon on a handful of occasions in the 1960s and 1970s, usually alongside an heirloom Diamond Necklace that may have originated from the House of Savoy.
Princess Napoléon notably wore the piece as a Necklace for a cover of Paris Match in the late 1960s and for the Opening of the Premiere of ‘Orphee aux Enfers’ at the Opera Garnier on in Paris in 1988.
On a couple of occasions, the central element of the Necklace/Tiara has been detached to be worn as a Brooch, like for the Wedding Gala of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Sibilla Weiller at Jacquemart-Andre Museum in Paris in 1994.
Princess Napoléon also wore the Sapphire and Diamond Brooch alongside Prince Charles de Bourbon-Siciles, the Duke of Castro for a Gala Dinner at Chateau de Versailles in 1998. Lets hope we see this string jewel worn again soon!
Sapphire Necklace Tiara
Queen Marie Henriette’s Pearl Tiara
Savoy-Aosta Choker/Bandeau
