Cardinal de Rohan believes he’s secretly helping Marie Antoinette purchase the world’s most extravagant necklace, while Jeanne de la Motte and her accomplices quietly dismantle it and sell the diamonds across Europe. We’ll tell you all about the scheme, the dramatic arrest of Rohan at Versailles during the Feast of the Assumption, and the sensational public trial before the Parlement of Paris. Jeanne is punished, others are exiled, Rohan is cheered as a victim — and Marie Antoinette, though innocent, is left more despised than ever. From there, we trace how the scandal haunted her through the Revolution, the flight to Varennes, and her final days in the Conciergerie, all the way to the guillotine.

affair of the diamond necklace, marie antoinette, cardinal de rohan, jeanne de la motte, nicolas de la motte, rétaux de villette, nicole d’oliva, versailles, feast of the assumption, temple prison, conciergerie, louis xvi, princess de lamballe, varennes, french revolution, september massacres, guillotine, 18th century scandal, french history, trial of marie antoinette

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