Cardinal de Rohan and the fake Marie Antoinette

The affair of the necklace started with Madame la Motte convincing the Cardinal de Rohan that she could help him get back in favor with Marie Antoinette again. The con artist, who claimed to be the Comtesse de La Motte, and her accomplices engineered a sham correspondence between the cardinal and the Queen Marie Antoinette. They even arranged a meeting with the Queen for the Cardinal de Rohan. Little did he know, the woman whom he thought was Marie Antoinette was only an impersonator hired by the con woman to dress like Marie Antoinette.

The meeting arranged between the Cardinal de Rohan and the fake Marie Antoinette, who was infact a prostitute, took place at night at Versailles. The false queen gave the cardinal a rose and hurried away, leaving the cardinal under the illusion that he had met Marie Antoinette. The Cardinal de Rohan was estacstic.

Then, Madame la Motte told the cardinal that Marie Antoinette wanted him to purchase a very expensive diamond necklace on her behalf. Obediently the cardinal obtained the necklace from the jewelers and gave it to Madame La Motte. Madame La Motte then gave the diamond necklace to her husband, who took them to London and sold them.

How the affair of the necklace became public

The affair of the necklace became public when Boehmer approached the Queen for payment. When Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI learned the basic facts of the affair of the necklace, both king and queen were enraged that Rohan would think that the queen would use a go-between to obtain a necklace.

The cardinal was arrested and tried. Although, he was acquitted, he lost his position in court. Madame de La Motte was also arrested. She was punished and imprisoned, but she escaped to London, where she wrote her highly questionable memoirs, spreading false rumors about Marie Antoinette.

Although Marie Antoinette was innocent in the affair of the necklace, many of her enemies used the affair of the necklace to attack her extravagant lifestyle. Her enemies also started rumors that she wickedly tricked the Cardinal de Rohan, used him to obtain the necklace and then refused to pay for it. The scandal added to her unpopularity and the Diamond Necklace Affair contributed greatly to Marie Antoinette 's downfall.