Of the many scandals associated with the notorious French Queen Marie Antoniette in the buildup to her catastrophic downfall, the Diamond Necklace Affair was one of the more insidious and toxic, embroiling the queen in a sordid tale of theft, deception and corruption. We take a closer look at how the affair unfolded, and whether or not there was actually any truth to the tale.
Why Was Marie Antoinette So Susceptible to Rumor?
Marie Antoinette was one of France’s most notorious queens, although much of that reputation was the result of a lack of education that would be necessary for a monarch, her unnecessary spending, the fact that she was not originally from France, and the overall state of the country.
While women didn’t have the same education or expectation of their male counterparts many noble women, especially those who were going to marry royalty, were highly educated. Unfortunately, Marie Antoinette was not – instead she enjoyed more pleasurable activities like gambling and spending, which were at odd with much of French society mired by recession.
Neither she or her husband were in a position to rule a country where the court life was such a lavish contrast to real life. Their spending was astronomical and rumors swirled about them, including the infamous and untrue statement that Marie Antoinette said “let them eat cake.”
People also disliked the fact that she was originally from Austria – as the daughter of Marie Theresa, the Habsburg Empress. While it had been hoped the union between the French king and Austrian bride would help solve some of the contentious border issues and land holdings between Austria and France, many in France remained suspicious.
With her relative unpopularity, it therefore makes sense that she could be embroiled in a scandalous con.
How Did the Diamond Necklace Affair Begin?
The Diamond Affair started as many great cons do, as an idea to make money. But it all truly began with the necklace. Bohmer and Bassenge were jewelers in France that are still around today. They had a necklace that had 650 diamonds and was 2,800 carets. The sparkly necklace was expensive, even with a price cut as they tried to sell it, but no one wanted to purchase it. It had originally been created for the mistress of Louis XV, but he died before it was finished. Enter Cardinal Rohan.
The Queen didn’t do herself any favors with who she sought out as friends, and who she decided to shun. She took a lot of advice from her mother and brother which didn’t help the suspicions that the French people had with Austria meddling in their affairs.
Cardinal Rohan was one of the people that the Queen had shunned due to his previous behavior on the advice of her mother. Of course, he wanted to gain back her favor and get a better foot hold in the courts, making him a great mark in a scheme to buy the necklace “on behalf of Marie Antoinette”. So how was he approached to buy this jewelry and how did he get conned into thinking that this whole thing was somehow connected to the Queen? That would be thanks to his friend/mistress Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Remy, aka Jeanne de la Motte.
How Did Jeanne Scam Cardinal Rohan?
Jeanne de la Motte was a rather average woman. Her husband was an officer but she herself was the granddaughter of Henry II of France through an illegitimate son. She had some money and court privileges, and was the French ambassador to Vienna.
Jeanne also involved another man named Retaux de Villette in this mess. Jeanne told Cardinal Rohan that the Queen was a close friend and confidant, making him believe the route to making up with Queen Antoinette lay with him. So, he agreed to meet the Queen secretly at night on August 11, 1784 in the Queen’s Grove. Only, he of course did not meet the actual Queen. She was lady-of-the-night Nicole Le Guay d’Oliva, who had a very slight passing resemblance to Marie Antoinette. This is why they chose to meet at night, to help deceive Rohan about who she was.
Between the fake Antoinette meetings and forged letters given to him, it was arranged to give money for her charity causes and eventually arrange the purchase of the necklace—the “Queen” claimed she didn’t want it to be made public that she was buying such an expensive piece. Rohan ended up going to the jewelers and buying the necklace on his own credit, and agreeing to pay the jewelers back in installments, with what he thought was money he would be given by the monarch.
What Was the Fallout from the Diamond Necklace Affair?
The jewelers did think that the necklace was being purchased for the Queen. So, when Rohan failed to pay them in the beginning, because of course the people involved in the con weren’t giving him any actual money for the purchase, they went straight to the Queen, who had no idea what they were talking about.
For Cardinal Rohan, the situation pretty much ruined him. King Louis XVI had Rohan arrested as part of the conspiracy with his “accomplices.” He was imprisoned in Bastille, and although eventually found innocent he was exiled to La Chaise-Dieu abbey in Auvergne. As De La Motte was a well-known figure in the court, she was caught, flogged, branded and given a life sentence in prison, although she later escaped to England, where she continued to help spread vicious rumors about Marie Antoinette.
Even though the impostors were discovered, the necklace was already sold off as single diamonds. Marie Antoinette’s reputation was also in tatters – she was already a controversial figure and people who heard about the scandal believed it had actually been her in the garden that night, and that she simply wanted to get out of paying Rohan.
