page_title: Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy
section_title: The affair of the diamond necklace
hierarchical_section_title: Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy / The affair of the diamond necklace
context_page_description: Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, self proclaimed "Comtesse de la Motte" was a notorious French adventuress and thief; she was married to Nicholas de la Motte whose family's claim to nobility is dubious. She herself was an impoverished descendant of the Valois royal family through an illegitimate son of King Henry II. She is known for her prominent role in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, one of many scandals that led to the French Revolution and helped to destroy the monarchy of France.
context_section_description: When it became clear that Nicolas was unable to meet the couple's financial needs to maintain them in the extravagant style that his wife avidly desired, Jeanne resolved to ask a more generous pension from the royal family due to her royal blood. She decided to approach Marie Antoinette as she felt the Queen, being a woman, would be more sympathetic to her plight; Jeanne therefore made frequent visits to Versailles in the hope of catching the Queen's attention. At that time, any ordinary citizen dressed in suitable attire could enter the palace and its gardens, and observe the royal family. Nevertheless, Marie-Antoinette had been told of Jeanne's questionable lifestyle and refused to meet her.
  The marriage between Jeanne and her husband was unsuccessful although they continued to live together. Jeanne took a lover, Rétaux de Villette, a common gigolo and Nicolas's fellow officer in the gendarmerie. Around 1783, she met Cardinal Prince Louis de Rohan. The thoroughly unscrupulous Jeanne quickly became his mistress and confidante. As a result, she became aware that the Prince wanted nothing more than to win Marie Antoinette's approval. Nevertheless, the Queen shunned the Cardinal because he had attempted to thwart her marriage to Louis XVI and she was aware of his scandalous and venial lifestyle.
  Jeanne was described as having been slender with small breasts; she had white skin, chestnut-brown hair, limpid blue eyes, and a "winning smile". The Abbé Georgel, Cardinal de Rohan's loyal servant, describes Jeanne as having "the wiles of a Circe." She was fully prepared to use them to her advantage. She obtained some money from the Cardinal, and a commission for her husband in the Comte d'Artois's bodyguard. But these were not enough to enable the de la Mottes to live in the princely state that Jeanne aspired to.
  At the same time, the jeweler Charles Auguste Boehmer was trying to sell a particularly expensive and luxurious diamond necklace originally designed for Madame du Barry. He had invested a fortune into this piece of jewelry and had to sell it fast to avoid bankruptcy. He soon realized that only the King could possibly buy such an item, but Louis XVI and the Queen refused the necklace.
  Jeanne, with the active help of her husband and de Villette, concocted a plan to use this situation to their financial advantage. Rétaux de Villette was a master forger and wrote letters from 'the Queen' to the "comtesse". In the fake letters, the Queen stated that she wanted the necklace, but was aware of the reluctance of the King to buy it due to the current dismal financial situation of the country. She hoped that the Cardinal could lend her the money as a secret favor. Jeanne de la Motte was named as the Queen's agent. The Cardinal believed these letters to be authentic and agreed to buy the necklace for the Queen. The Cardinal knew very well that the Queen never met Jeanne in public, but believed that she was her trusted agent due to a secret liaison. A late night rendezvous was arranged, where the Cardinal met 'the Queen' (in reality a prostitute who resembled her, called Nicole le Guay d'Oliva) and received forgiveness. The jeweler was contacted and asked to bring the necklace.
  The necklace was given to Jeanne de la Motte to pass on to the Queen. Her husband promptly began selling the diamonds in Paris and London. The affair came to light only when the Cardinal was arrested. Also soon arrested were Jeanne de la Motte, Rétaux de Villette, Nicole d'Oliva, and Count Cagliostro, a self-proclaimed holy man of whom the Cardinal was a patron, and whom Jeanne accused of being the one who persuaded the Cardinal to purchase the necklace. "Comte" Nicholas de la Motte stayed in London.
  While they were not directly implicated and could have tried the swindlers without publicity, the King and the Queen insisted on a public trial to defend their honor.
  Nevertheless, the trial actually had the opposite effect and destroyed the reputation of the Queen, because the public saw her as the guilty party. The Cardinal was found not guilty and acquitted. Ki
caption: Cardinal Prince Louis de Rohan
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