I was reading about Frederick The Great of Prussia last night when I came across this picture.
I thought… hmmmm… that hat looks familiar!
Napoleon apparently adopted the hat from Frederick The Great of Prussia, whom he greatly admired, who in turn borrowed it from Charles XII of Sweden. A quick Google search lead me to this article in The Milwaukee Journal from 1938:
I don’t think I’ve ever heard this story before. Perhaps David or someone can shed some light on its veracity?
Please do a new podcast
Hi Cameron,
though it’s not impossible that Napoleon’s hat was inspired by Frederick the Great, I think it’s most plausible that it was simply a style that was in fashion at the time with european military establishments. Look at this picture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson#mediaviewer/File:HoratioNelson1.jpg