Eugénie de Montijo was Napoleon III’s wife. She was a fashion icon, known for her exceptionally wide dresses and the Eugénie hat.
Eugénie de Montijo, a Spanish aristocrat who became the Empress of the French in 1853, was born on this day in 1826. She was the wife of French emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew. Eugénie married Napoleon III when he was already emperor and thus immediately became empress.
Eugénie de Montijo was born in Granada, a beautiful city in southern Spain, home to the fabulous Alhambra Palace. She married at the age of 26, while Napoleon III was 44 at the time. She became a famous fashion icon, known for her wide dresses and the Eugénie hat, a style of women’s chapeau worn dramatically tilted and drooped over one eye. Eugénie lived to the high age of 94, outliving her husband for 47 years.
