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An imperial emerald diamond necklace of the former House of Baden.
In 1803, Stéphanie attracted the attention of Napoléon and he has ordered her to come to Paris. She has preserved an ethical education and became an instrument of the politics of Napoléon. When he want to married her at the court of Baden, she was adopted by Napoléon and Joséphine, from now on, as being a “Bonaparte”.
DOWAGER DUCHESS OF HAMILTON| Princess Marie Elisabeth of BadenVarious reminiscences of illustrious people are conjured up by the recent death of the Dowager Duchess of Hamilton, Princess Mary of Baden. The Princess, who was born on October 11, 1817, was married at the age of 26 to the Duke of Hamilton, one of the personal friends of Louis Napoleon. When the Prince-President became Emperor, the Duke purchased a magnificent mansion in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. The Duchess of Hamilton was one of the most welcome guests at the Tuileries, and while she avoided to a considerable extent the more ostentatious gatherings of the Imperial Court, she was a constant attendant at the Empress’s small teas and at the intimate family reunions at St. Cloud. When her husband, the Duke of Hamilton, died suddenly on leaving the Maison Dorée on the Boulevards in 1863, the Duchess retired altogether from the brilliant life of the Court. There were many reasons why the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton were personæ gratissimæ at the Tuileries during the dazzling days of the Imperial régime. The Duke was indeed a trusted friend of Louis Napoleon, but his wife was the daughter of the Emperor’s favourite aunt. The Dowager Duchess of Hamilton, who has just died, was in fact one of the children of Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de Beauharnais, Vicomtesse de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter of Napoleon I, who in April 1806 married the Grand Duke of Baden. On the death of Queen Hortense in 1837, it was the Grand Duchess Stéphanie who watched with maternal solicitude over young Louis Napoleon. Of his filial familiarity towards his aunt, an amusing anecdote is told by the Vicomte de Beauchêne, who knew the Grand Duchess well. Prince Louis, his aunt, and the vicomte were playing whist one evening. The Prince, losing, prepared to leave the room without paying the Grand Duchess.
At this the Duchess remarked to the vicomte: “Prince Louis is always joking,” little thinking at the time that her nephew was destined one day to repay her with interest. It was the Grand Duchess Stéphanie who represented Queen Josephine of Sweden and Norway at the baptism of the young Prince Imperial, later killed in Zululand. Cardinal Patrizzi acted as sponsor on behalf of Pope Pius IX at the same christening. The Dowager Duchess of Hamilton, who has just died, although she did not reside in the French capital, was a great benefactress to its poor. Her grandson, Prince Louis of Monaco—whose mother, Lady Mary Victoria Douglas Hamilton, after her divorce from Prince Albert of Monaco, married Count Festetics of Vienna—is now completing his studies at the Collège Stanislas, the famous Jesuit establishment in Paris. He was a great favourite of his grandmother and frequently spent his holidays with her in Baden.
WILL OF THE LATE DUCHESS OF HAMILTON The late Duchess of Hamilton and Chatelherault, Marie Elisabeth of Baden, Dowager Duchess, who died on the 17th October 1888 at Baden, left the following dispositions in her will:
The testatrix constitutes as universal heiress her daughter Victoria, Countess Tassilo Festetics, to whom she bequeaths all her estates in Baden, Switzerland, and England; her inheritance of Brunswick; 250,000 marks; her inheritance of 250,000 francs; the proceeds of the sale of her house in the Rue de Paris; and £28,355 held in the hands of Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar and Mr. Charles Gore. By codicils, the testatrix recorded certain diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and turquoises as left to her daughter, and also bequeathed a necklace of eight rows of pearls, to be worn by her daughter during her lifetime, and upon her death to be given to the testatrix’s granddaughter and god-daughter, Countess Mary Festetics, “from her grandmother, who loved her tenderly, and whom I hope she will never forget.”The estate of Maccia-Holden in the Canton of St. Gall is given to Prince Louis of Monaco. The Swiss cottage at Baden is left to the Duke of Hamilton, to whom the testatrix also bequeaths the portrait of her cousin, the Emperor Napoleon III, and the Empress, painted by Winterhalter. Legacies are made to Queen Carola of Saxony, to other special god-children, and to relatives and friends of the testatrix. She also leaves 6,000 marks to her banker at Baden, pensions to her menservants, and £40 a year for life to her maid, with bequests to her other servants as well. The personal estate of the late Duchess has been sworn at £6,452.
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