Business of the collar of the queen

See also: the Business of the collar of the queen

The business of the collar of the queen is a swindle which had as a victim, in 1785, the cardinal of Rohan, bishop of Strasbourg, and which splashed the queen Marie-Antoinette.

The instigator of this business is Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy which descends by his father from the king de France Henri II and of her mistress Nicole de Savigny. As a downward last of Valois, fact attested officially by Hozier, genealogist of the king, it touched besides a pension of Louis XVI.

Its childhood however was more miserable. Since Henri II, the line was descended to low. His/her father had married a vulgar country-woman, whom it left widowed soon. Jeanne was sent to beg on the ways by her mother, by asking for " charity for poor orphan of the blood of Valois ". A charitable lady, the good marchioness of Boulainvilliers, astonished by this history, took information, and made checks, took the steps to obtain a pension of the king to him, and will make him give a good education in a convent located close to Montgeron.

In 1780, Jeanne marries in Bar-sur-Aube, a young officer of extremely advisable appearance, Nicolas of the Mound, which is useful in the bodyguards of the count d' Artois, second brother of the king. The household, a little later is delivered its own authority the title of count and countess of the Mound. Jeanne is not made any more from now on call but countess of the Mound-Valois. On this date, it goes on a journey in Saverne, to join Mrs. de Boulainvilliers who introduces to his friend the cardinal Louis to him de Rohan-Guéménée, to which it appeals financially to leave misery with which it continues to struggle more or less. It is there too that it meets the magus Giuseppe Balsamo, who is made call count de Cagliostro. This one also revolves around the cardinal of Rohan, by tapping money in exchange to him of be-saying miracles. It changes, inter alia, gold lead and diamond silica!!

Benefitting from the fact that Versailles is largely accessible to the public, it tries to mix with the Court. She manages to convince the cardinal whom she met the queen, Marie-Antoinette and even became the intimate friend about it. His/her lover Marc Rétaux of the Villette, a friend of her husband, plays the forgers by imitating the writing of the queen perfectly. He carries out for Mrs. of the Mound of false signed letters Marie-Antoinette of France whereas she did not sign, of course, that Marie-Antoinette (the queens of France signed only of their first name, and in any event, Marie-Antoinette was not of France but of Lorraine of Austria …). The countess thus will maintain a false correspondence, of which she is the messenger, between the queen and the cardinal of which the goal would be to reconcile them.

The queen and the cardinal have, indeed, an old dispute: in 1773 the cardinal, who was then ambassador at the Court of Austria had realized that the Impératrice Marie-Therese, the mother of Marie-Antoinette, played a double game and prepared under hand the dismantling of Poland, in.liaison.with Prussia and Russia. He had written a letter with Louis XV for informing some, letter which had been diverted by the duke of Pivot, Foreign Minister, who had given it to the countess of Barry (that Marie-Antoinette hated). The countess had publicly read it in a dinner, and aggravating circumstance, the tone of this letter was ironic and very disrespectful towards the Empress (the cardinal depicted it in particular, " holding with a hand a handkerchief to wipe the tears which it poured in connection with the dismantling of Poland, and other hand a knife to cut its share of the gâteau" …).

In addition, the life dissolue of the cardinal in Vienna, his unrestrained expenditure, its posted mistresses, its sumptuous shooting parties in laic behavior, had scandalized the pious Marie-Therese horrified to see a representative of the King Very-Christian and especially a prince of the Church to behave this way. She had asked for Versailles the recall of this not very suitable ambassador and had obtained it.

Since these episodes, the queen, faithful to the memory of her mother, was more than in cold with the cardinal. This last was in despair of this hostility. The countess of the Mound made hope for with the cardinal a back in favor near the sovereign one. Having large needs for money, it started by tapping with the cardinal 60.000 books (in two payments), which he was too happy to grant while the countess provided him false increasingly benevolent letters of the queen, announcing the hoped reconciliation, while indefinitely pushing back the successive appointments requested by the cardinal to ensure itself some.

However at that time the amorous meetings, under cover of veils and capes, in the thickets of Versailles, make fury. The count of the Mound discovered that a prostitute, Nicole d' Oliva, operating at the Palais Royal, forged a pretty reputation due to her astonishing resemblance to the queen. Mrs. of the Mound receives it and convinces it to want well, against a generous sum, to play the part of a great lady receiving in catimini a friend, with an aim of playing a turn.

The August 11th 1784, the cardinal is finally seen confirming an appointment with the Thicket of Venus at eleven o'clock in the evening. There, Nicole d' Oliva disguised as a Marie-Antoinette accommodates it with a pink and murmurs to him “You know what that means”. Immediately Mrs. of the Mound appears, announcing an imaginary danger and flees with her accomplice. The following day the cardinal receives a false letter of the " reine" , regretting the brevity of the meeting.

Up to now, the countess of the Mound limited herself, one sees it, with the breach of trust of small scale. But, exploiting the reputation of the queen as for her passion for the jewels, Mrs. of the Mound will undertake the blow of her life, by swindling this time the cardinal for the fabulous sum of 1,6 million books.

The jeweller of the king Charles Bœhmer had indeed designed an extraordinary ornament of more than 600 splendid diamonds (either 2500 carats…), intended for the origin with the countess of Barry. The death of Louis XV opposed the project, and no European court wanted of a so expensive jewel. The collar was already presented at the time of the sacring of the king then on several occasions with Marie-Antoinette in 1782, but Louis XVI forever successful to make the decision to acquire it, and the queen itself had declared that in this period of war of America, " France needed more a warship than of a collar ". The jeweller, not finding any other customers for such a part, was likely to be ruined. This situation was rather known at the Court, and the countess of the Mound had wind of it. The idea of the monumental swindle germinated then in its spirit.

The December 28th 1784, being always presented in the form of an intimate friend of the queen, it meets the jeweller who shows him the collar. Immediately she imagines a plan to enter in her possession. She declares with the jeweller, with the angels, that she will intervene to convince the queen to buy the jewel, but by the means of a figurehead. In fact, the cardinal of Rohan receives soon a new letter, always signed " Marie-Antoinette de France" , in which the queen explains to him that not being able to allow itself to acquire the jewel openly, it makes him ask to be used to him as intermediary, being committed refunding it in payments spread out in time - four payments of 400.000 books - and granting full powerss in this business to him.

The countess has moreover the chance to be herself spared the convenient complicity of Cagliostro, whose cardinal is absolutely fanatic (it will go until declaring " Cagliostro is God himself! "). In front of the cardinal, the magus makes announce by a child medium an oracle revealing the most fabulous continuations for the prelate if it lends itself to this business. Of course, the recognition of the queen will not know any more terminals, the favors will rain on the head of the cardinal, the queen will make it name by the king Prime Minister! The 1785, convinced, the cardinal signs the four drafts and is made deliver the jewel that it will carry the evening even to Mrs. of the Mound to Versailles. In front of him, it transmits it to an alleged footman carrying delivered of the queen (who is not other than Rétaux of the Villette). To have supported this negotiation, the intrigante will profit even from gifts of the jeweller.

Immediately the swindlers dismounted the collar and started to resell the stones. Rétaux of the Villette has some troubles by negotiating to them his. Their quality is such, and, pressed by time, it so negotiates them below their value, that Jewish diamond cutters suspect the fruit of a flight and denounce it. It proves its bona fide and leaves to Brussels to sell what remains to him. The count of the Mound starts from his side to propose most beautiful diamonds with two English jewellers of London. Those, for the same reasons that their colleagues Jews, smell the filled blow. They send an emissary to Paris: but no flight of jewels of this value being known, they buy them, reassured. The last stones are thus sold with London.

During this time, the first expiry is awaited by the jeweller and the cardinal for on August 1st. However, the craftsman and the prelate are astonished to note that while waiting, the queen does not carry the collar. Mrs. of the Mound ensures them that a special occasions did not arise yet, and that of ici-là, if one speaks to them about the collar, they must answer that it was sold to the sultan of Constantinople. In July however, the first expiry approaching, the moment came for the countess to save time. She asks the cardinal to find lenders to help the queen to refund. Indeed it has evil to find the 400.000 books which it owes in this term. But the jeweller will precipitate the outcome. Having had wind of the difficulties of payment which are announced, it goes directly to the first chambermaid of Marie-Antoinette, Mrs. Campan, and evokes the business with her. This one fall from naked and naturally immediately will bring back to the queen her discussion with Boehmer. Marie-Antoinette, for whom the business is incomprehensible, load the baron de Breteuil, Minister for the Maison of the king, to draw the things with light. The baron de Breteuil is an enemy of the cardinal of Rohan. Discovering the swindle in which the cardinal is implied, it rubs the hands, and hopes well to give him all possible publicity.

The alleged countess, feeling the suspicions, arranged herself meanwhile to get to the cardinal a first payment of 30.000 books. But this payment, moreover ridiculous, is from now on useless. The business will burst with the eyes of the amazed Court. The king is warned on August 14th. August 15th, whereas the cardinal - who is also large-chaplain of France - is on the point of celebrating in large pump the mass of the Assomption in the vault of Versailles, he is convened in the apartments of the king. He sees himself summoned to explain the file made up against him. The naive prelate is dismayed to understand that it was Bern since the beginning by the countess of the Mound. He sends to seek the letters of the " reine". The king explodes: " How a prince of the house of Rohan, large-chaplain of France, it could accept one moment signed letters Marie-Antoinette of France! ". The queen adds: " And how could you believe that me, which have not addressed the word to you for 15 years, I could have addressed to me to you for a business of this nature? ". The cardinal breaks up, stammers. " My cousin, I warn you that you will be stopped… " , the king says to him gently. Horrified, the cardinal begs the king to save this humiliation to him, it calls upon the dignity of the Church, the memory of his cousin the countess of Marsan which raised Louis XVI… The king hesitates, it looks at the queen. This one cries of rage in front of this new scandal which will splash its reputation, without it being less responsible world. The king is turned over towards the cardinal: " I do what I owe, and as king, and husband. Leave ".

Livid, staggering, the cardinal leaves the cabinet of the king and enters the gallery of the Ices. All the Court is massed there, wondering why the ceremonies of 15-August are thus delayed. At the time when the cardinal appears, the baron de Breteuil launches: " That one stops Mister the cardinal! ". Amazement and the scandal are immense.

The cardinal is imprisoned with the Bastille. He immediately starts to refund the which had sums, by selling his own goods, of which its castle of Coupvray (at the end of the 19th century, the descendants of its heirs will continue sporadically to refund by fractions the descendants of the jeweller). The countess of the Mound is stopped, her husband flees with London with last diamonds, Rétaux of the Villette being already in Suisse. One challenges also Cagliostro and Nicole d' Oliva.

The king leaves to the cardinal the choice of the jurisdiction which will have to come to a conclusion about its case: or to rely directly on the judgment of the king, or to be translated in front of the Parliament of Paris. What proves extremely clumsy on behalf of Louis XVI: the cardinal deciding to put the business in the hands of the Parliament which is always, more or less, in sling against royal authority.

May 22nd 1786, the lawsuit opens before the Parliament, which it 30 returns its verdict. The cardinal is discharged. The alleged countess of the Mound, condemned to the prison with perpetuity with the Salpêtrière, after being whipped and being marked with red iron. Her husband is condemned to the galères with perpetuity by contumacy, and Rétaux of the Villette banished east. Lastly, Nicole d' Oliva and Cagliostro are put out of cause, Cagliostro being however invited to leave the French territory as soon as possible.

Marie-Antoinette is with the roof of humiliation. It rightly takes the payment of the cardinal like a snub. On behalf of the judges, this payment means that one could not hold rigor with the cardinal to have believed that the queen sent love letters to him, granted amorous meetings to him in the park of Versailles and bought Pharaonic jewels by the means of men of straw in hiding-place of the king. In short, it was to imply that the queen was perfectly able to have made it, and it is well in this spirit that the judgment was given, and taken in the opinion.

The queen thus obtains from the king that it exiles the cardinal of Rohan with Chair-God, one of the abbeys in Commende of the cardinal, after having dislocated it of her post of large chaplain. There will remain three months in this abbey, after which he will go under more lenient skies, with the abbey of Marmoutier close to Turns. It is only at the end of three years, the March 17th 1788, that the king will authorize it to find his diocese of Strasbourg.

Although Marie-Antoinette was, from one end to another, absolutely foreign with all this sordid business, the public opinion did not want to accept the innocence of the queen. For a long time shown to take part, by its excessive expenditure, with the deficit of the budget of the kingdom, it undergoes on this occasion an avalanche of opprobriums without precedent. The occasion was too beautiful for the lampoonists to leave free course to their calumnies in orduriers lampoons where the queen was made offer diamonds for price of her loves with the cardinal… This scandal will have its share of responsibilities in the fall for the royalty four years later and in release for the Revolution. " the business of the Collar was as the foreword of the Revolution " could declare Goethe.

It inspired the novel the Collar of the queen to Alexandre Dumas and gave place to a film of Marcel the Herbarium.

See too

Arsène Lupin child is put in scene in the news of Maurice Leblanc the Collar of the queen (published thereafter in the collection Arsène Lupin gentleman burglar ).
the Business of the collar, cartoon of Blake and Mortimer (1967) is based on the assumption of the reappearance of the collar at the time modern.
Of the characters of the business of the collar appears in the Rose of Versailles, Manga, and Lady Oscar, Japanese cartoon.

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