Qualla: Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:29 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/2/v/0/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine: Introduction https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine/ Photo credit Christian Lambiotte, CC BY 4.0. The air conditioning in the basketball stadium did not work. By mid-morning on December 4, 1977, the temperature inside had climbed past 35 degrees Celsius, and the 4,000 guests -- dressed in suits, evening gowns, and military uniforms -- were fanning themselves with their ceremony programs. The Emperor was late. A 120-piece French Navy orchestra, flown in for the occasion, began playing a drinking song to fill the dead air. When Jean-Bedel Bokassa finally arrived at the renamed "Coronation Palace" in Bangui, he had abandoned his horse-drawn carriage for an air-conditioned Mercedes partway through the route, switching back to the carriage only for the final few hundred meters. What followed was a $20 million pantomime of Napoleon's coronation, staged in one of the poorest countries on Earth.

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Image: Christian Lambiotte | CC BY 4.0

]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/2/v/0/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-wp/s2v0-coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine: A Dictator's Idol https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine/ Photo credit Fotografia Felici, Public domain. Bokassa had ruled the Central African Republic as a military dictator since seizing power in 1966. On December 4, 1976 -- exactly one year before the coronation -- he renamed the country the Central African Empire and declared himself emperor, adopting a constitution that made th...

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Image: Fotografia Felici | Public domain

]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/2/v/0/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-wp/s2v0-coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-a-dictators-idol.mp3 0:06 2 full Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine: A Two-Ton Eagle and 24,000 Bottles of Champagne https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine/ Photo credit Christian Lambiotte, CC BY 4.0. The preparations were astonishing in their extravagance and specificity. Sculptor Olivier Brice built a special workshop near his home in Gisors, Normandy, employing 300 workers to construct the Imperial Throne -- a gilded bronze eagle with outstretched wings, weighing two tons, ...

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Image: Christian Lambiotte | CC BY 4.0

]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/2/v/0/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-wp/s2v0-coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-a-two-ton-eagle-and-24-000-bottles-of-champagne.mp3 0:06 3 full Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine: The Loneliest Guest List in History https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine/ Photo credit Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo, CC0. Bokassa wanted Pope Paul VI to attend, imagining himself taking the crown from the pontiff's hands as Napoleon supposedly did with Pius VII. The Apostolic Pro-Nuncio gently explained that the 79-year-old Pope was too frail for the journey. Emperor Hirohito of Japan declined. Shah...

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]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/2/v/0/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-wp/s2v0-coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-the-loneliest-guest-list-in-history.mp3 0:06 4 full Coronation of Bokassa I and Catherine: The Crown Goes On, the Empire Comes Off https://qualla.com/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine/ Photo credit Christian Lambiotte, CC BY 4.0. At 10:15, the ceremony began. Guardsmen in Napoleonic-era uniforms carried the national flag and imperial standard down the carpet. The Crown Prince -- Bokassa's son Jean-Bedel Jr., one of more than 40 children -- entered in a white military-parade uniform. Empress Catherine foll...

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Image: Christian Lambiotte | CC BY 4.0

]]> Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/2/v/0/coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-wp/s2v0-coronation-of-bokassa-i-and-catherine-the-crown-goes-on-the-empire-comes-off.mp3 0:06 5 full