Crowning Wisdom: Louis XV's

The crown of King Louis XV of France is one of only a handful regalia to survive the destruction of the French Revolution and the later republican sellings off. Made in 1722 and originally embellished with diamonds, this was the model for Napoleon’s crown when he persuaded himself to become emperor. If both of my little models do justice to their subjects, then I would suggest that Louis’ original looks rather better than Bonaparte’s replica. Yet both monarchies would crumble: Louis’ during the reign of his son, and Napoleon’s courtesy of Allied battlefield victories, including Waterloo. Both crowns are displayed at Paris’ Louvre, and those who wear them now await -or are receiving- God’s dreadful assessment of their lives. Better to have worn no crown in life and be offered one by Christ, than to have worn one on earth but receive nothing thereafter:

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1:12