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Amidst her becoming a mother, Marie Antoinette's reputation continued to suffer. Her already tarnished reputation was once and for all ruined in the incident known as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, which took place four years before the French Revolution.
The diamond necklace was commissioned by the late Louis XV for his mistress, Madame du Barry. The necklace was estimated at 2 000 000 livres (approximately $14 million in USD) and it took several years for the Parisian jewellers to collect the diamonds, however in the meantime Louis XV died of grandson and Louis XVI had banished du Barry from court. The king's death meant that the necklace was unpaid form and almost bankrupted the jewellers.
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A reconstruction of the necklace.
The incident started as an intrigue on the part of la Comtesse de La Motte who supposedly was to procure the necklace for the queen but in reality for herself. The countess suggested to the Cardinal de Rohan, who was anxious to be restored to favour at the French court, that the queen wished to acquire the necklace, and if he helped facilitate the negotiations with the jewelers a formal reconciliation would be in order.
After reading forged letters supposedly from the queen and a brief nocturnal interview in the gardens of Versailles with a prostitute disguised as the queen, the cardinal entered into a contract with the jewellers to pledge his credit to pay for the necklace in installments.
When he failed to pay the jewellers went straight to the queen it was found out that the necklace had been broken up and solid in London, and not in the queen's possession like the cardinal had thought it to be.
Louis XVI had the cardinal arrested and imprisoned in the Bastille, and although he was acquitted of all charges he was deprived of his offices and exiled. The Countess fled to England to avoid life imprisonment.
Although the queen played no part in it, the affair was an important factor is discrediting the monarchy in the eyes of the French people. After the affair broke out there was an increase in literature defaming the Queen. Her reputation was irreversibly destroyed as it appeared to many that she was plotting to misuse more of the kingdom's depleting money for personal trinkets.
Marie Antoinette symbolised the lavishness and corruption of the regime and she served as the perfect scapegoat .
