Marie Antoinette is without a doubt one of the most tragic figures in royal history. And part of her downfall was due to a diamond necklace that she never owned.
King Louis XV commissioned a diamond necklace for his beloved mistress, Madame du Barry. He chose two jewellers from Paris, Charles Auguste Boehmer and Paul Bassenge, to create the 2,000,000 livre necklace which was meant to outshine any other.
In the time it took to acquire the diamonds needed for the necklace and physically assemble it, the elderly king died. Unfortunately for Boehmer and Bassenge, he had not paid for the necklace.
The jewellers attempted to sell the necklace to the now Queen Marie Antoinette multiple times, but she continued to refuse.
A French con-woman, Jeanne de la Motte, became the mistress of Cardinal de Rohan. The Cardinal had served as an ambassador to the Viennese Court and had told Marie Antoinette’s mother repeatedly about her “bad behaviour”.
De la Motte convinced the Cardinal that she was connected to the French queen and could help him build a better relationship with her.
The conwoman convinced him that the queen wanted to grant him her favour and went so far as to have a prostitute pretend to be her.
Cardinal du Rohan was convinced to buy the necklace on behalf of the queen, having been convinced by forged signatures.
While the resulting trial found that Marie Antoinette had never purchased the necklace, the Cardinal was not involved in the con, and that de la Motte and her contacts were guilty, the scandal and public uproar only contributed to the growing hatred towards the French queen.