Overview
- The Louvre confirmed that eight objects from its Napoleonic collection were stolen, publishing a list that includes diadems, collars, earrings and brooches linked to several 19th‑century royals.
- Empress Eugenia de Montijo’s crown was found damaged beneath a museum window shortly after the robbery, according to local reporting citing investigative sources.
- Initial accounts describe a rapid operation lasting about seven minutes carried out by four hooded thieves, with inquiries ongoing.
- The recovered crown was commissioned in 1855 from Alexandre‑Gabriel Lemonnier and is described as set with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, sold at auction in 1988 before later being donated to the Louvre.
- The theft has renewed attention to Eugenia’s Spanish origins in Granada and to related jewels preserved in Spain within the Casa de Alba’s patrimony.