The Affair of the Necklace

Found another movie I want to watch - The Affair of the Necklace, it will cost 2.99

Cardinal Rohan intended to give Marie-Antoinette a luxurious diamond necklace to regain her favour. But an imposter posing as the queen proved cleverer than the Cardinal, causing a glittering scandal.

Following his return from Vienna as an ambassador, Cardinal Rohan, Grand Almoner of France, had fallen out of favour with the queen because of his licentious behaviour. Heeding the advice of her mother, Marie-Antoinette had excluded the cardinal from her inner circle. Ready to do anything to regain her favour, the Cardinal fell back on the graces of an acquaintaince, the self-styled Countess of La Motte. A genuine descendent of one of the legitimate sons of Henry II of Valois, the countesse was above all else a confidence trickster. Claiming to be one of the queen’s friends, she promised the Cardinal he would once again find himself looked upon kindly by the queen, and organised a nocturnal meeting on 11 August 1784 in the Queen’s Grove. During the meeting a lady, whom the Cardinal supposed to be Marie-Antoinette, reassured him from the shadows of his standing with the court. Rohan went away positively thrilled. 

At the time the Crown jewellers, Böhmer and Bassenge, had been trying for several years to sell an extravagant necklace containing nearly 650 diamonds and weighing almost 2,800 carats. They had presented it to Louis XVI in 1782, but the queen had turned it down. Despite the asking price having been reduced to 1.6 million Livres, it was still considered exorbitantly costly. Mme de La Motte discussed the matter with the Cardinal, who agreed to act as an intermediary to buy the necklace on behalf of the queen, with payment to be made in four installments over two years. The jewellers were delighted to have found a buyer at last and handed over the necklace to the Cardinal on 1 February 1785. The Cardinal promptly presented it to Mme de La Motte, who just as promptly disappeared with her accomplices. 

A romantic drama based on the controversial true story of Jeanne De La Motte Valois, a countess whose name was stripped from her by the Royal Family during the late 18th Century. The story of her fight to restore her name and proper place in society is filled with mystery, intrigue and desire, with an infamous diamond necklace at the center of it all.