According to The Royal Watcher, we don’t quite know the origins of the bracelet for sure, but it’s thought to date back to the vaulted ballrooms of the Napoleonic court. Princess Augusta, daughter of Maximillian I Joseph of Bavaria and Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, was married to Eugène de Beauharnais, the son of Empress Josephine and stepson of Emperor Napoleon.
Despite being the daughter-in-law of the Empress, Princess Augusta was distraught at the match, having fallen in love with Charles, heir to the Grand Dukedom of Baden. Soon, though, she grew fond of Eugène and the pair welcomed six children, including Queen Josefina of Sweden and Norway, who inherited a pearl bracelet bearing her mother’s miniature.
Josefina ruled over Sweden and Norway after marrying King Oscar I. Together, the royal couple were the second rulers of the House of Bernadotte, which endures through the Swedish royal lineage to this day. Her bracelet was inherited by Josefina’s grandaughter, Lovisa of Sweden, who would go on to become Queen of Denmark after marrying the future King Frederik VIII.