‘True miracle’: Napoleon’s long-lost hat to go on display in France
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The black felt bicorne is thought to have been worn by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
PHOTO: AFP
- A hat believed to be Napoleon's from his Saint Helena exile will be displayed at the Chateau de Chantilly later this year.
- Confirmed as authentic, the beaver felt bicorne shows signs of wear, offering a poignant glimpse into Napoleon's final years.
- The hat, traced back to Napoleon's sister and later the Conde Museum, will be a highlight of an upcoming exhibition.
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CHANTILLY, France - A newly discovered hat believed to have been worn by Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on the island of Saint Helena is set to go on display outside Paris later this year, historians said on March 26.
The black felt bicorne was presented to the media on March 26 and will be exhibited at the Chateau de Chantilly, north of Paris, later in the year.
Mr Mathieu Deldicque, director of the Conde Museum, where the headdress will go on display, said the find was a “true miracle”, stressing that all of its parts were well preserved.
“This hat is a revelation,” he said. “We know every stage of its history, from Napoleon’s exile on Saint Helena right up to the present day.”
Mr Jean‑Guillaume Parich, of the Army Museum, who confirmed the beaver felt hat’s authenticity, said it was one of the four headpieces taken by the deposed emperor into his final exile on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
“There are even some rather moving, rather touching details – namely, its silk lining shows clear signs of perspiration,” he said.
“One can really picture the emperor in his final years.”
In his will, written shortly before his death in 1821, Napoleon left several imperial keepsakes – including two of his last hats – to his son, the King of Rome.
But the gifts never reached Napoleon II, who died of a lung infection in 1832.
An engraving of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte from 1852.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
The imperial estate, brought back from Saint Helena, was awarded in 1836 to Napoleon’s sister Caroline Murat.
The hat eventually entered the Conde Museum collections in 1904.
But it was quickly placed in the storeroom and was for a long time “unknown to all specialists and enthusiasts of the Napoleonic era,” said Mr Deldicque.
It was only in 2025, while preparing an exhibition, that Mr Parich managed to trace the hat’s journey and confirm its authenticity.
Made by Poupard - Napoleon’s official hatmaker - the headpiece displays all the hallmark features of an authentic imperial bicorne, including its distinctive proportions, a small tricolour cockade, and a silk‑taffeta lining, Mr Parich said.
Napoleon is believed to have ordered between 60 and 80 such hats, he said.
Unlike most other officers at the time, Napoleon wore his hat sideways, which gave him a distinct silhouette easily recognised by his troops in battle.
Around 15 of such hats have been fully authenticated, most of them now held in museum collections, said Mr Parich.
The newly authenticated hat will serve as the centrepiece of an exhibition devoted to the art collections of Napoleon’s sister, opening in early June.
Napoleonic memorabilia fetches sky‑high prices at auctions. In 2023, a hat belonging to Napoleon when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly two million euros. AFP
