Marie Antoinette, Queen of France from 1770 to 1797 was despised by the people of France. Their hatred of her and the monarchy in general led to the French Revolution. Many issues led to the unpopularity of Queen Maria Antoinette, her vanity, her disregard for the people, but perhaps the most significant was the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.In 1785, the court jewelers, Bohmer and Basange, constructed a necklace with five hundred and forty diamonds of varying sizes in an ugly arrangement that resembled the collars worn by circus animals. They hoped that King Louis XV would purchase it for his favorite, Madame du Barry. Unfortunately, the king died before the necklace was completed. So, naturally the jewelers tried to sell the piece to the newly crowned Queen, Marie Antoinette, because she was known for her extravagant spending and taste. They priced the jewelry at and equivalent of two million dollars in modern money. The Queen declined the offer. She did not like the necklace and the price was even too high for her. Knowing that they would be ruined if the Queen didnt buy their product the jewelers continued to plead with her for ten years. Each time she turned them down. Then, one day the Queen received a note signed by Bassange which said, We have real satisfaction in thinking that the most beautiful set of diamonds in existence will belong to the greatest and best of Queens. Puzzled by the message, the Queen, put the note to flame by a candle sitting on a nearby table (Komroff 85).Weeks later, when the jewelers received no answer to their letter Bohmer paid a visit to Madame Campan, one of the Queens ladies-in waiting. He told her that he had received word that the Queen commissioned the Cardinal de Rohan to buy their necklace for her. This came as much of a shock to Campan seeing how she had know the Queen ever since she first arrived in France, and she knew of the Queens hatred for the Cardinal. I...
