The Greatest Heist of 18th Century France | Jeanne de la Motte | Affair of the Diamond Necklace

Opinion on Marie Antoinette was decisive in the late 18th century, but no single event was so damaging to her reputation as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. Accused of a fraud of which she was innocent, the real mastermind, Jeanne de la Motte, not only got away with the crime of stealing the most expensive necklace in France, but left a wave of destruction behind her. This video looks at how the crime happened, its aftermath, and what happened to both the culprits and the innocent...
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Sources and Related Books:
Madame Du Barry: The Wages of Beauty by Joan Haslip - amzn.to/3RI6naH
Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser - amzn.to/3DEMXNZ
How to Ruin a Queen: Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Affair by Jonathon Beckman - amzn.to/3KEUHUR
The above book links are affiliate links, and by clicking and buying a book, you're helping support this channel. Thank you very much! 🙌
For my images and footage, thanks to:
Pexels
Pixabay
Wikimedia Commons, especially:
Jorge Láscar
Myrabella
Zairon
Jebulon
Château de Breteuil
Trizek
Paolo Costa Baldi for the view of Versailles from the Parterre d'eau
Jean-Jacques MILAN
Eric Pouhier
Special thanks for one image of Jeanne de la Motte and one of Cardinal de Rohan - Mixed Media Sculpture by George S. Stuart. Photo(s) by Peter D'Aprix for the Historical Figure Foundation

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thanks for watching! 😊 What are your thoughts on how the crime affected Marie Antoinette's reputation? Does it change the way you feel about her?

[@dolanaretumidolanandyou5519]

I think this crime permanently damaged her reputation as a queen as well as a first lady of a state .Yes, now l feel really sorry for Marie.Hope history will restore her dew respect.Thanks a lot for your truthfulness .

[@vollhov2370]

@@dolanaretumidolanandyou5519 In fairness, in France itself, there are many different memorable places in honor of her. Every October 16, the anniversary of his death, many people go on pilgrimage to the Palace of Versailles to lay flowers in its gardens. Token denouncing the death of the queen on October 16, 1793.

[@arresteddev7366]

It's sad that even when truth is exposed, people are still unwilling to believe it. Marie is still one of my favourites.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I was quite ambivalent about Marie Antoinette until I started researching her more, but I like her quite a lot now. She wasn't the best queen, and she did (along with Louis XVI) make some silly decisions, but she was a good person at heart, from what I've read.

[@dolanaretumidolanandyou5519]

I feel very sad for the misfortune of the French Queen.History books taught us that this lady was almost a villain of the French Revolution.Hopefully today l know that she was not that much imposter

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I think like most events in history (with some exceptions) things are always complex, and not as simple as we have been taught. Many people contributed to the French Revolution, but the Revolutionaries needed scapegoats, and the royal family fitted.

[@jadedgal05]

They really did do this. But if you were to read between the lines and consider what the revolutionaries did to the children of the Royal Family, one can sus out that something was rotten. That’s what got my noggin joggjn about Marie Antoinette & if she really was so awful. A bit of research proves she wasn’t. It’s past, and makes no difference because the deed is done, what happened, happened. But as with all historical wrongs, it’s still good that her true character has been revealed to those who wish to find it.

[@ZachRussellComedy]

Incredibly well told this vid should have way more views

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thank you so much! 😊 I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[@Shelly-mz9yf]

Incredible . Thought I researched Marie Antoinette thoroughly. Never knew this

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I must admit, I had heard of the diamond necklace, but I didn't really know anything about it. I think, like most things about Marie Antoinette, a lot of history that gave a more rounded view was buried beneath the caricature of her that gave credence to the French Revolution.

[@BeveC21E]

'The Affair of the Necklace' made into film, is worth viewing.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Someone else mentioned it yesterday! I'll have to find a copy.

[@markpeter4304]

Is it on Netflix

[@milkqt666]

@@markpeter4304 sadge its not, its on prime now, sad how they all move things around

[@DemonFoxAkira]

Be warned, though... It was really played up and only the bare bones of the plot are the historically accurate. If you're looking for "real story" stuff, you won't like it. If you are in for the ride and don't mind some melodramatic late 90s cheese like me, have at it.

[@karmaalstad5588]

Its free on KZbin atm.

[@philippemihailovich6316]

really well researched and well told, thank you!

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thank you, I'm please you enjoyed it! 😊

[@LyricalXilence]

This has got to be the most idiotic heist I have ever heard of. Did this Cardinal think he was in a Bond flick?

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I seriously had to check it with a lot of different sources to make sure I wasn't getting any of it wrong, it was so crazy. 😂

[@Philip-bk2dm]

I'm imagining Casanova and his "friends" at a dinner party and the glee with which tidbits of this tale would have been whispered.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Haha, I think you're right! I can imagine each time the story was told, the necklace grew more expensive, Jeanne more cunning, and the Cardinal more amorous. 😂

[@einezcrespo2107]

Truth be told it looks too gaudy and Marie Antoinette was right. Jeanne de la Motte paid the price for inadvertedly toppling the monarchy. Marie Antoinette's bad reputation with the general public also paid a part even though in fairness to Marie she did turn down the necklace.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

To be fair, I agree about the necklace - I thought it looked a bit too much, as well! 😂 I imagine the intended owner - Madame du Barry - would have loved it, though, because of the sheer expense. And that's true, Marie Antoinette had already created a poor image of herself when younger, although in later years she tried to repair that with being a good mother and reining in her spending. If the crime had never happened, the public might have warmed to her eventually.

[@einezcrespo2107]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople I think what made it difficult was Marie being the Austrian as she was mocked at court even before she started. The level of distrust, the non consumation of her marriage and pressure to bear an heir didn't help. The spending and partying became an outlet.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

@Einez Crespo You're right, everyone was against her from the start purely based on being Austrian. People always find it very easy to point fingers at Marie Antoinette and her early lavish spending, but honestly, if I was a teenager in a country where I knew everyone openly disliked me, and someone said 'here's the money for your dresses and jewellery', as you say, you can bet I would have probably spent it as well! I don't know that many 16 year olds with common sense if they were allowed near unlimited spending, and I really blame her mother for not preparing her daughter better, and/or ensuring there was someone by her side to advise firmly.

[@angelabby2379]

only Marie Antoinette can pull off it though as fashion icon of her era, anything she wore instantly became sought out item

[@einezcrespo2107]

​@@angelabby2379 But she refused it. It was a terrible necklace and it was supposed to be for Madame de Barry originally.

[@ajaylet9563]

the affair of the necklace was such a good movie about this !!!!!

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I've never seen it, but I came across it when I was researching. I might have to give it a watch!

[@SakuraAsranArt]

I just realized that Cardinal Rohan is technically history's first documented victim of a catfishing romance scam 😂

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Hahaha, you're right! 😂

[@lizzie5973]

I wish we could have a more nuanced conversation about Marie Antoinette. Sure she was nowhere near as bad as she was reported but she was still a woman of privilege. She and Louise made dumb decisions later on lead to their downfalls plus the monarchy wasn't going to last since the immense poverty and inequality was too big for reforms.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Exactly THIS. Some people have said on my video about Marie Antoinette's children that I must be on the side of royalists as I've clearly shown that, when actually I'm just trying to provide all sides of a story. Marie Antoinette was far from perfect, and made some stupid decisions (as did Louis XVI), such as not agreeing to a constitutional monarchy when it was a choice. But she also wasn't the evil caricature she was later painted as, and the French Revolution only gets more interesting when we dig further into it.

[@altinaykor364]

Marie Antoinette making stupid decisions and monarchy not going to last, aren't exactly excuses that justifies the amount of abuse and crimes which revolutionaries did against her, her family, the rest of people of France and later Europe! there's nothing to be understandable about them or even worth to see POV for, unless if you're a toxic lunatic just like them. so stop trying

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

I would like to have a copy of that necklace for myself in cubic zirconia or rhinestones of course. If I could make it myself.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

It would be amazing to wear something like that for a few hours! The one in the video is (as you say) all made from cubic zirconia, so not as valuable. It must have been incredible made out of diamonds, especially such good quality ones.

[@aracelygonzales4846]

Thank you so much for defending the Queen and giving her a voice of justice

[@lfgifu296]

Hello and nice Friday! As much as Marie spent tremendously and was a bit futile, I feel for her. She does seem like a caring person…

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Agreed! I must admit, before doing these videos I was quite ambivalent about Marie Antoinette, but as I research her more I have much more sympathy for her. I think perhaps if the royal couple had been surrounded with more of the right people, and had more political help from Austria, they might have survived.

[@chrismayo2647]

I love love love how you narate the story. Im learning alot.😊😊😊

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thank you so much! 😊 I'm still learning, but I try to make it as exciting/emotional/interesting as possible, so it's encouraging when I know you guys are enjoying it.

[@user-su8qw9dw6d]

I feel so bad for the man who got stuck withthe debt that necklace

[@kariyobaker9617]

Watching this video augments my knowledge of this story which I read in the novel, "The Queen's Necklace" by Alexandre Dumas. Only that this video gives more details not recorded in Alexandre Dumas' novel. Thank you for the information contained herein.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and that it made Alexandre Dumas' book even better! 😊

[@robynmorris4153]

Very well explained 👍

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it! 😊

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

Hello, the currency at the time wasn't Franc's it was a different type, you got it right, Twice she tried for the necklace and both times she was acquitted each time. The diamonds came from Brazil before they were discovered in India and later in Africa. Marie didn't like necklaces, but the story wouldn't go away especially in which it was fuel for the French Revolution.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I know the currency in the video itself isn't correct, but sadly as I use free stock footage, I often have to make do with what is available. 😊 And you're right, it was absolutely fuel for the Revolution - it was probably one of the biggest factors in how people saw her, despite the fact she was innocent!

[@markpeter4304]

....and I thought tell all books was some new phenomena

[@altinaykor364]

I suggest you to look it up on these women as well Etta Palm D'Aelders Olympe De Gouges Theroigne de Mericourt Albertine-Elisabeth Pater all of them are criminally overlooked and forgotten, despite being such an active women of their time

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Oooh, thank you! Two of them were already on my list somewhere, but not the others. ☺

[@redcupidbowlips3793]

❤❤❤❤❤❤ thank you 🙏🏼

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it! ☺

[@melinehhacopians1184]

Beautiful necklace!

[@LovePrettyNailsLady-Jay80]

They did her dirty.

[@lfgifu296]

Btw, how would your: fav to least fav Tudor monarch list go?

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

I just wanted to reply so you know I'm not ignoring this comment, but I'm just doing bedtime for my little boy so I'll answer this properly in a few hours! 🤣

[@fouchermarguerite2037]

Il would have been clever to hush up the case!

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Definitely! I think the big mistake was allowing the Cardinal de Rohan to choose how the case was decided. If Louis XVI had just dealt with it himself, it might never have come out publicly!

[@Satanna.avemaria]

I would love to try and make that necklace 😍🥰🥺

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

It really is an amazing bit of jewellery!

[@goeegoanna]

Fascinating, isn't it, how distracted people can become over a useless hunk of carbon.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Hahaha! I think that ALL the time. Who decided which bit of mineral or rock was worth more than another mineral or rock?

[@goeegoanna]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople Why the diamond sellers of course. Wasn't there a very big push around the 30s about this? Engagement rings coming into fashion, advertising, movies made (yes that one...A kiss on the hand...) all to sell carbon at prices well beyond a lump of coal.

[@jenniferbreaux7385]

She's kind of a terrible person.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Oh, she definitely was! I can't really find any redemption here for her at all, except perhaps that she was very clever in creating the plan. I could have even forgiven Jeanne's greed, had she not then gone to London and wrote her memoir falsely accusing Marie Antoinette!

[@jenniferbreaux7385]

@@HistorysForgottenPeople poor Marie Antoinette. Such a tragic figure. Hopefully the future will look more kindly on her.

[@jazminmuro9692]

I think in a way Jeanne de Valois-saint-rémy did this just to get back at the royals. Especially Marie-Antoinette because she ignored her over the affairs of her husband's solider. I think Marie-Antoinette should not have done this over affairs and lovers like the case with Madame du Barry. I know that was no fault of the queen but she has to realize that this is France. Versailles is a hot topic where everyone has power, riches, and romance. I think there were some reasons Marie was not well-liked in France because she judged them and looked down on their debauchery lifestyles. Anyway, I think Jeanne did have hope that as a bloodline to the Valois royal family, she would be presented as such. She had hoped to gain favor from the queen, but she was ignored which was the start of a downfall. Jeanne felt that this insult should not go unpunished because she had hope that her life would be different than her childhood. She gathered her own group to create the biggest con in history. Her conartist were Nicholas de la Motte and her new lover Rétaux de Villette. Her secondary plan was to get the right people to play the roles such as Nicole Le Guay d'Oliva and Cardinal de Rohan. The scheme would have worked if not for the flaw of her plan over the Bohemer who made the necklace itself kept coming to Versailles for the queen to pay the rest of the money. I did feel bad for the queen for falling victim to the scheme and nobody believed her since she was so hated in France. If only, she had not burned that receipt for the purchase. Perhaps, it could have saved her reputation and life. But I also, felt bad for Jeanne de Valois because she wanted some recognition from the queen as a fellow royal blood. But that was denied public if not. In the end, we still don't know what motivated Jeanne de Valois to create such a scheme that started the French Revolution.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Oh, I think you're absolutely right in that Jeanne's motivation - aside from wanting to be rich - definitely included getting back at Marie Antoinette. As you say, snubbing the wrong person could be a very volatile decision!

[@altinaykor364]

no, she doesn't deserve sympathy

[@vollhov2370]

You watch and read about the history of Marie Antoinette and you understand that most of those who harmed her somehow got what they deserved.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

You're right - whenever I read about anything regarding the French Revolution, on all sides, I always think, "What a bloody (often quite literally) mess."

[@altinaykor364]

Actually it really satisfies me, whenever I read and watch movies about French Revolution and watch everyone of her abusers getting much worse and more humiliating endings.

[@fouchermarguerite2037]

Top!

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@PoliticalPolly1]

THEY SAY ROYALIST GAURDS THAT WHERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROYALS ACTUALLY ROUGHED HER UP THAN THROUGH HER OUT THE WINDOW........wich I believe that version to jeans death.

[@HistorysForgottenPeople]

Well, there's different possibilities as how her death really occurred, but historically speaking, I can only use the sources from the time. The idea she got into trouble with debtors is also very likely considering the lifestyle she liked to keep and the way she spent money.

[@ShirleeKnott]

Here's a comment for the algorithm.💎 Did you know it counts all comments, replies and likes to both? 🏰Why not help the channel and leave one?