This story seems fictional - there is so much intrigue and treachery in it. And the listing of the persons who participated in it will give honor to any adventure novel - Queen Marie Antoinette, Count Cagliostro and the famous swindler who became the prototype of Milady from The Three Musketeers - the famous adventurer Jeanne de Lamotte …
Jeanne de Lamotte, née Saint-Remy de Valois, was born in 1756. Its origin was both noble and at the same time very piquant. She was related to the royal house of Valois, but belonged to a family that emerged from the extramarital affairs of King Henry II with Madame Saint-Remy.
The family was very poor, and Jeanne's mother taught her how to make money with the help of cunning and female charm. The girl quickly mastered the science of seduction and deception and soon found a match for herself - the Guards officer Count Lamotte. The husband of the young adventurer was distinguished by the same passion for money, he loved adventures and had no conscience.
The newlyweds decided to settle in Paris, where there were a lot of opportunities for enrichment and intrigue. Having looked around at a new place, the insidious Jeanne chose her victim, a man by no means stupid and famous for his good nature - the rich Louis de Rogan, cardinal of Strasbourg. He belonged to high society, but Jeanne, despite her dubious origin and poverty, managed to get to know him and gain "access to the body." At the same time, according to the testimony of her contemporaries, Jeanne was by no means distinguished by her beauty, but she knew how to present herself in this way and was so smart that no one could resist under her spell. The cardinal was subdued by the young adventurer, showered her with money, introduced her to his circle.
Louis XVI
Jeanne, meanwhile, announced that she had managed to make a short acquaintance with the wife of Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette. In her scams, the fraudster began to hide behind the name of the queen and soon won the reputation of her closest friend. True, later the queen claimed that she had never known Lamotte in her life. But it is not known who is right and who is not - both ladies were distinguished by cunning and the ability to lie to their advantage … It is possible that the queen really brought a clever intriguer closer to herself, who knew how to make the most unexpected and profitable connections. For example, with the mysterious Count Cagliostro.
Marie antoinette
In 1784, in the house of Cardinal Rogan, Jeanne met this amazing man, who had recently arrived in Paris, and very quickly found a common language with the adventurer. Two adventurers fooled the cardinal's head, talked a lot about clairvoyance, the elixir of life, the philosopher's stone. Count Cagliostro arranged his famous transformation sessions in Paris and, according to rumors, Jeanne played roles in his productions more than once, appearing in various characters.
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Fatal necklace
The story with the necklace began to develop 10 years before the events described. Louis XV in 1773 decided to present a gift to his favorite Madame Dubarry, famous for her extraordinary beauty. The king considered that his lady of the heart should have all the best and ordered an extraordinary necklace consisting of 629 pure water diamonds for the damsel from the jewelers Bemer and Bassange. Its cost was enormous.
But in 1774, Louis died before he could redeem the jewelry. His heir, Louis XVI, refused to pay for the necklace, saying that he would better buy several warships with this money. The jewelers tried to influence Marie Antoinette, but she looked at the necklace sparkling with diamonds and found it too vulgar. Bemer and Bessange were practically ruined - they bought materials with their own money. The necklace was kept by jewelers and was awaiting a buyer who could pay an unheard-of huge sum for it …
And about this old story, the adventurous couple Lamotte and Count Cagliostro heard. A brilliant plan was soon invented …
Marie Antoinette's Fatal Necklace
The position of Cardinal Rogan at the court at that time was somewhat shaken, from which he suffered a lot. Rogan dreamed more than anything else of getting the Queen's patronage and friendship. Jeanne, on the other hand, constantly emphasized her friendship with Marie Antoinette and argued that she could help her lover win good affection at court.
Count Cagliostro and Jeanne described to Rogan his future brilliant position in society, which awaits the cardinal under the auspices of the queen.
The fraudster talked about how she often starts conversations with the queen about Rogan, loyal to her, and she listens favorably to speeches about her faithful servant. Once Jeanne came to Rogan with the sensational news - the queen is waiting for him today on a date in the Versailles park! In the evening, Rogan arrived at the park and in a secluded place really saw Marie Antoinette, who graciously talked to the cardinal and presented him with her rose - then Rogan ordered to enclose this flower in a precious frame. Inspired Rogan flew out of the park on wings, dreaming of future happiness.
Count Cagliostro
Very soon, the deceived cardinal learned that the queen was not real. Shortly before that, Jeanne and her husband met the milliner Nicole Leguet, whose resemblance to Marie Antoinette was simply amazing. It only remained to dress her up in luxurious outfits and teach her to hold her head proudly - and the queen is ready. For a monetary reward, Nicole agreed to take part in the scam, and simple-minded Rogan did not notice the deception …
Double stamp
Soon Rogan received news through Jeanne - the queen wants to buy Madame Dubarry's necklace, but asks for help from her kind new friend. She wants to buy back the diamonds without publicity, and besides, it is very difficult for her to find the necessary amount of 1,600,000 livres, so she asks Rogan to go to the jewelers and give them her letter. In this letter, the Queen asked for an installment plan and for the necklace to be handed over to her guarantor, Cardinal Rogan. The jewelers, who were well aware of both Rogan's impeccable reputation and the queen's handwriting, happily agreed to all the conditions and gave the necklace. Rogan handed it over to Jeanne and waited for favors from Marie Antoinette. But I didn't wait …
The jewelers soon wrote a letter to the queen, in which they asked to contribute part of the amount. Marie Antoinette, in response, expressed her bewilderment - she did not buy any necklace. A letter from the Queen surfaced, which, upon close examination, turned out to be a masterful forgery. They rushed to look for Rogan, who pointed to Madame Lamotte. It turned out that her husband had disappeared, she herself was also going to run, but did not have time …
She was arrested, but she claimed that she did everything on the orders of Count Cagliostro. Soon the whole company gathered in the Bastille - Jeanne, Rogan and the adventurer count. It was not only the Earl of Lammoth, who successfully fled to London, where diamonds of unheard of clarity soon appeared on the jewelry market.
And in Paris at that time began the process of the century - the trial of the Queen's necklace case. On May 31, 1786, the Paris parliament passed a verdict - Cardinal Rogan and Count Cagliostro were acquitted (although the latter was ordered to leave the capital within two weeks). And Jeanne Lamotte and her husband (in absentia) were sentenced to corporal punishment, stigma and eternal imprisonment.
Jeanne was flogged in the square, branded with the letter "V" - a thief. They say that the criminal jerked, the brand had to be put again and two V letters remained on her shoulder - one blurred, and the other clear. Jeanne was sent to prison, but soon she disappeared from her mysteriously. The adventurer appeared in London, where she soon published a sensational memoir on the state of affairs at the French court.
These memoirs and, in general, the whole story with the necklace, very much damaged the reputation of Marie Antoinette - the French firmly believed that there is no smoke without fire, and not otherwise the queen herself was involved in this strange case. A few years later, Marie Antoinette died under the knife of the guillotine …
Almost nothing is known about the further fate of Jeanne. There are several versions of her death that have not been documented. According to one of them, she threw herself out of the window of an English hotel, mistaking the people entering the room for agents of the French government.
There is one interesting version, which enthusiasts are now actively engaged in research. According to legends, at the end of the 18th century, a certain French countess appeared in the Crimea, who bought a house on the coast. It was rumored that she possesses untold wealth and lives by selling her very large and expensive diamonds. When the local residents washed her body after death, they saw that she had a two-letter mark on her shoulder …
This story seems fantastic, but, nevertheless, at the beginning of the 20th century in the Crimea, a strange grave was found and photographed, the inscription on which reads - "Here lies the French Countess de LaMotte" … Later, the grave disappeared under the highway, laid on this place, and the photographs burned down in the fire of revolutions and wars …
N. Trubinovskaya