Affair of the Diamond Necklace

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History & Society

Affair of the Diamond Necklace

French history

Also known as: Affair of the Necklace

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2024 • Article History

Affair of the Diamond Necklace

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Category: History & Society

Also called:: Affair of the Necklace

Date:: 1785

Key People:: Marie-Antoinette; Louis-René-Édouard, prince de Rohan

On the Web:: Palace of Versailles - The affair of the diamond necklace, 1784-1785 (Apr. 05, 2024)

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Affair of the Diamond Necklace, scandal at the court of Louis XVI in 1785 that discredited the French monarchy on the eve of the French Revolution. It began as an intrigue on the part of an adventuress, the comtesse (countess) de La Motte, to procure, supposedly for Queen Marie-Antoinette but in reality for herself and her associates, a diamond necklace worth 1,600,000 livres. The necklace was the property of the Parisian firm of jewelers Boehmer and Bassenge, who had tried unsuccessfully to sell it, first to Louis XV as a present for his mistress Madame du Barry and later to ...(100 of 479 words)

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