Hats off to Napoleon and Wellington

The Emperor and the Duke both wore bicornes – in different styles. Now their hats are united, thanks to Nancy Astor. By Justin Davies

- Justin Davies

There are two bicornes (‘two-horned’ hats) in the Citadel at Bayonne, south-west France, that were once worn by Emperor Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington.

They aren’t there as relics of the long, arduous Peninsula campaign between Napoleon and Wellington’s armies from 1807 to 1814.

Instead, they arrived in France in October 1945 on a Halifax bomber, as a gift from Nancy Astor, the first woman to take a seat in Parliament. They were given by Lady Astor in the name of the British nation in recognition of Anglo-French comradeship and the valiant services rendered by the French SAS.

And what rare, valuable hats they are! In 2014, a Napoleon chapeau sold for £1.25 million.

Napoleon’s bicorne is one of about 120 made by the Parisian hat-maker Poupard; around 20 are known still to exist. The Duke of Wellington’s was made by Moore of Old Bond Street. Wellington’s is more complex – with plumes and gold braid – than Napoleon’s simpler chapeau.

British general officers didn’t mind much about the plumage and gold braid sported on Wellington’s fine example. They wore their hats ‘fore to aft’, front to back, rather than sideways. Wearing one’s hat this way supposedly made brandishing a sword easier.

Napoleon ordered a new hat every three months. They were designed specifically for him. He wore his bicorne sideways. Sideways was the fashion until 1800. Napoleon retained the style, sporting it at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.