Princess Profile - Eugénie de Montijo
Eugénie, the Last Empress of France was born in 1826 to the impressive name of Doña María Eugenia Ignatia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick. The daughter of a Spanish Count and his half Scottish wife, Eugénie became the 9th Countess of Teba and later, the Empress of France. She was a beautiful, charming and elegant Lady who was both a leader of fashion, and an intelligent and capable Empress. She had political influence over her husband and was Regent during his absences.
Eugénie was educated in Paris at the famous Sacré Cœur (Sacred Heart) Convent and brought up among fashionable society, where she met Prince Louis Napoléon, to whom she made a very controversial marriage a year after his coronation. As a wedding gift he gave her a beautiful diamond, now known as the Empress Eugénie Diamond.
The Empress was said to be an admirer of Marie Antoinette, certainly she had a similar love for exquisite clothing and jewels. Her fashion choices influenced the silhouettes of womens costume for several decades and she was looked to by many as a paragon of beauty and elegance. She was a close friend of Princess Pauline de Metternich.
It is perhaps no coincidence that her reign very nearly ended in the same manner as Marie Antoinette’s. After the battle of Sedan, in which her husband was captured, she was forced to flee rioting in Paris and go in to exile in England. Napoléon III later joined her there and the pair spent the rest of their lives in England.
I would like to read a biography on Eugénie and learn more about her fascinating life and vibrant character. I have always admired the paintings of her, for she has such a serene and regal composure.
Welcome to the Princess Portal, a blog about finding your inner princess and living every day with beauty, grace and a sense of childlike wonder. This is both my diary and a way of sharing my writings on the Princess lifestyle. Please feel free to comment on anything that interests you! I'd love to hear from you ♥
January 6th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Your Princesses’ portraits are always wonderful. In class we’d studied them.
I prefer Emperess Joséphine de Beauharnais than Eugénie, even she was gentler than the first wife of Napoléon Ier.
Have a nice evening, bisous ^-^
January 6th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I am pretty amazed to see that, at the moment I read this post, I have Eugénie Guzman y Palafox (and not de Montijo, which you would learn if you read her biography) inside my bag! Princess telepathy :)
January 6th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
P.S.: The Eugénie’s biography I’m currently reading is from Jean des Cars, which I highly recommend as I read many biographies from him before and they were remarquable!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:58 am
How interesting! I’ve never heard of her before, but your little biography on her caught my eye because my First name is Eugenia (I’m called Genie for short) and I’ve always disliked my name because of it’s no longer used as much in America. But reading this has inspired me a bit =)