To win back the favors of Marie-Antoinette, Cardinal de Rohan undertakes to offer the Queen a sumptuous necklace. But the queen is not the queen… A state scandal begins.

A cardinal in disgrace

Grand chaplain of France, Cardinal de Rohan has been in disgrace with the queen since his return from Vienna as ambassador. On the advice of her mother, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, Marie-Antoinette removed him from her circle for her licentious morals. Anxious to regain his confidence, the cardinal is ready for anything. In 1778, Louis XVI was approached by two jewelers who wanted to sell him the necklace for his wife. There are several versions of the story. One version states that Marie-Antoinette refuses the present, claiming that this money can be better spent. Other versions want it to be Louis XVI who refused. Be that as it may, the jewelers tried to sell the necklace directly to the queen in 1781, exposing themselves to a new refusal. It was then that a countess, Madame de la Motte realized that she could take advantage of these adventures.

A series of subterfuges

Madame de la Motte hires a prostitute whose resemblance to the Queen is disturbing to deceive Cardinal de Rohan. Posing as a close friend of the Queen, Madame de la Motte promises the two jewelers who created the necklace, now in debt, that she wants to buy the jewel but she cannot afford it. She therefore sets up a series of subterfuges. She asks the queen’s look-alike that she has hired to go to an appointment that she gives to Cardinal de Rohan, who would be ready to do anything to regain his status. He accepts without hesitation.

Following this meeting, she sends to Cardinal de Rohan false letters in the name of Marie-Antoinette of France, a detail that will be important later. She asks the Cardinal to purchase the necklace on her behalf, after which she would repay him in installments. He accepts, happy with the Queen’s renewed confidence in him. He then brings the jewel to the Countess who pretends to pass it on to Marie-Antoinette. Madame de la Motte and her accomplices dismantle the necklace to resell the precious stones, damaged by the procedure. Suspicious at first, the buyers eventually give in, having heard of no theft.

False letters from the queen

The jeweler Böhmer gives the Queen a letter on July 12 alluding to the necklace. Letter that she does not take seriously and that she destroys. Faced with his silence, the jeweler returned to the charge in August. He is surprised

Following this meeting, she sends to Cardinal de Rohan false letters in the name of Marie-Antoinette of France, a detail that will be important later. She asks the Cardinal to purchase the necklace on her behalf, after which she would repay him in installments. He accepts, happy with the Queen’s renewed confidence in him. He then brings the jewel to the Countess who pretends to pass it on to Marie-Antoinette. Madame de la Motte and her accomplices dismantle the necklace to resell the precious stones, damaged by the procedure. Suspicious at first, the buyers eventually give in, having heard of no theft.

The scandal is Marie-Antoinette !

The jeweler Böhmer gives the Queen a letter on July 12 alluding to the necklace. Letter that she does not take seriously and that she destroys. Faced with his silence, the jeweler returned to the charge in August. He is surprised by Mrs. Campan, his maid, that he has not received full payment for the jewel. Learning from her what the jewelers want, Marie-Antoinette demands an explanation. The case is discovered. On August 15, before celebrating the service in the royal chapel, Rohan was summoned by the king. Coming out of his study, he was arrested in the Hall of Mirrors in the middle of dumbfounded courtiers. The scandal breaks out ! The cardinal was tried before the Parliament of Paris in May 1786. Against all odds, he was cleared. Madame de La Motte and her accomplices are arrested and tried. It will be branded with a red iron with the V for thief. Although innocent, the queen ultimately appears to be the culprit. The scandal is her ! She wanted the loss of the cardinal she hates. Her unpopularity is at its height.