Marie Antoinette was one of most famous sovereigns of all time, especially because of the scandals that have always been associated with his name, but which in reality do not actually correspond to what really happened. One of the most sensational examples is the so-called necklace dealone of the biggest scandals of the 18th century which significantly damaged the already fragile reputation of the queen and at the same time of the French monarchy.
The necklace scandal: here’s what Marie Antoinette (didn’t) have to do with it
This episode featured tons of deception, scams, and manipulation that showcased just some of the intrigue that was present at the Court of Versailles. It all started with a jewel created by Charles Auguste Boehmer and Paul Bassenge, two Parisian jewelers: it was a beautiful necklaceextremely expensive and made with 647 diamonds.
Originally this jewel had been thought for Madame du Barry, the mistress of King Louis It was precisely at that moment that a scammer decided to take advantage of the opportunity to have an excellent return: her name was Jeanne de la Motte and managed to convince the Cardinal Rohana very influential member of the French clergy, that Queen Marie Antoinette wanted to purchase that jewel in total secrecy.
According to Jeanne’s words, the queen could not afford to publicly purchase such a jewel, given the excessive expense it would have cost and, using a ploy, i.e. false letters with a fake signature of the queen, Jean managed to convince the cardinal by making him believe that he had become an intermediary for that purchase.
To make it even more truthful, Jeanne had hired a prostitute to ensure that she impersonated the queen and, during a night meeting, the cardinal met with the presumed Marie Antoinette, in such a way as to be able to see firsthand that she was actually interested in the necklace and at the same time wanted to continue the exchange of those letters that were not actually formal, which hid a love interest.
Accordingly Cardinal Rohan agreed to purchase the necklace in the Queen’s name, stating that it would be paid for a sum of 1.6 million livres in installments. The queen received a letter regarding the purchase of the necklace, but thinking it was a joke she decided to burn it. Meanwhile, the necklace was delivered to Jeanne who took it apart and sold diamonds separately. Obviously, when the jewelers did not receive the expected payment they approached the queen directly and she was extremely surprised by what had happened.
Although Marie Antoinette was actually innocent in this whole story and Jeanne and the prostitute were condemned, the French population however considered guilty was involved in this affair and as a result her public image suffered considerably.
#Marie #Antoinette #royal #Necklace #scandal #happened
