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Back to Podcast EpisodesMarie Antoinette, Deadly Splendor (Part Two)
In 1770, the French people greeted Austrian Marie Antoinette as the beautiful and future French queen. Twenty-three years later they guillotined her as the most reviled woman in France.
The affair of the Diamond Necklace had its origin in a piece of jewelry that was commissioned by Louis XV in 1772 and meant as a gift for his mistress, the Madame Du Barry. He requested that the royal jewelers Charles Boehmer and Paul Bassenge create a diamond necklace that exceeded anything previously produced. On spec, the two men took great pains to assemble a creation that incorporated a great number of exquisite diamonds in a staggeringly large and ornate necklace. Called, “The Slave’s Collar,” and consisting of over 2800 carats of diamonds, the worth of this necklace today has been estimated to be as high as one hundred million dollars. Unfortunately, the King died before this accoutrement could be finalized, the jewelers now stuck with a very expensive piece of jewelry and an extremely small pool of potential buyers, the most obvious Louis XVI. But twice, in 1778 and again in 1781, for one reason or another both the King and Marie Antoinette declined to purchase the necklace. Unsold, this became the basis of an elaborate confidence scheme hatched by a socially and financially ambitious woman who called herself the Comtesse Jeanne de la Motte.
By late 1784, Jeanne had ingratiated herself as the mistress of the Cardinal de Rohan, not only a member of the powerful de Rohan noble family but a former diplomat deployed in Vienna to the court of Maria Theresa. Unfortunately, his dissolute lifestyle and anti-Austrian bias earned him the antagonism of the Empress, who in turn delivered her opinion of the Cardinal to Marie Antoinette. Upon Louis XVI assuming the throne, De Rohan, most likely upon the urging of the Queen, was hastily recalled. Understanding that the Cardinal was desperate to improve his status within the French court, Jeanne de La Motte convinced De Rohan that she was well connected to especially Marie Antoinette. In fact, through a forger, fellow huckster and also feigned aristocrat Armand Retaux de Villette, Jeanne was able to access the French Court.
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago