Affair of the diamond necklace

The Affair of the diamond necklace was a mysterious incident in the 1780s at the court of Louis XVI of France involving the queen Marie Antoinette. It concerned an unsavoury episode in which the wife of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, whose reputation was already tarnished by gossip and scandal, was implicated in a crime by contemporary public opinion. The Affair was historically significant as one of the events that led to the French populace's disillusionment with the monarchy, which eventually culminated in the French Revolution.

The Necklace

The Parisian jewellers Boehmer and Bassenge had spent years collecting stones for a necklace which they hoped at first to sell to Madame du Barry, the favourite of Louis XV. After the death of Louis XV (1774), the jewellers hoped it could be a gift to the queen, Marie Antoinette. In 1778 Louis XVI offered it to the queen as a present; its cost at the time was 1,600,000 livres. By one account, the queen refused it with the statement that the money would be better spent equipping a man-of-war. According to others, Louis XVI himself changed his mind. After having vainly tried to place the necklace outside of France, the jewellers attempted again in 1781 to sell it to Marie Antoinette after the birth of the dauphin Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François (1781-1789). The Queen again refused, allegedly with some reluctance.

Related Topics:
Paris - Jeweller - Necklace - Madame du Barry - Louis XV - 1774 - 1778 - Man-of-war - 1781 - Dauphin - Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François

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