The bicorne hat recently authentified as worn by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during a press preview in the library of the Chateau de Chantilly, northern France, on March 26, 2026. ELISE HOUBEN / AFP
A newly discovered hat believed to have been worn by Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on the island of Saint Helena is set to go on display outside Paris later this year, historians said on Thursday, March 26. The black felt bicorne was presented to the media on Thursday, March 26, and will be exhibited at the Chateau de Chantilly, north of Paris, later in the year.
Mathieu Deldicque, director of the Condé Museum, where the headdress will go on display, said the find was a "true miracle," stressing that all of its parts were well preserved. "This hat is a revelation," he said. "We know every stage of its history, from Napoleon's exile on Saint Helena right up to the present day."
Jean-Guillaume Parich of the Army Museum, who confirmed the beaver felt hat's authenticity, said it was one of the four headpieces taken by the deposed emperor into his final exile on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. "There are even some rather moving, rather touching details – namely, its silk lining shows clear signs of perspiration," he said. "One can really picture the emperor in his final years."
