What Happened to the Empress Crown After Louvre Thieves Dropped It?

The priceless crown of a French empress is skewed and broken out of shape after thieves dropped it as they escaped the Louvre. Four hooded robbers brazenly broke into the Paris museum in broad daylight on October 19 and escaped with eight precious treasures worth£76 million. Police have arrested all four alleged members of the heist crew, but have yet to find the mastermind. They left in their wake the crown of Empress Eugenie, but it is ‘badly deformed’ after the thieves tried to remove it through a narrow hole they had sawed in its glass display. But the left behind headpiece that belonged to the wife of Napoleon III can be fully restored, the museum said. It is ‘nearly intact’ with its 56 emeralds, but is missing one of its eight golden eagles and 10 of its 1,354 diamonds. An expert committee led by the museum’s president, Laurence des Cars, has been selected to supervise the restoration. The four-minute heist took place just after opening on October 19, with visitors already inside. The thieves, posing as workers, used a truck-mounted device to reach the second floor before smashing through a window with power tools. Squeezing into the lavish Apollo Gallery, they cut through reinforced glass display cases and grabbed eight treasures before fleeing on scooters. Prosecutors raced to arrest those involved in the robbery, with experts fearful that the priceless gems and rare metals would be melted down and sold. Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; Empress Eugénie’s diadem; and her large corsage-bow brooch — a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble. France will not receive a payout for the stolen, unretrieved jewels which were once in display at the Apollo Gallery because they were not covered by private insurance. Authorities have also not tracked down the remaining missing jewels. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Teacher fighting for life after ‘being stabbed repeatedly by pupil’ Arrow MORE: Man turns up at hospital with a WWI bomb stuck up his backside Arrow MORE: I went on a ‘softies’ cycling tour — lots of red wine and pants from Lidl’s middle aisle