Let them wear pearls!
QUESTION One of Marie Antoinette’s necklaces was recently auctioned for £25 million. What happened to the rest of her gems and the crown jewels after the French Revolution?
Marie antoinette was the ill-fated Queen of Louis XVi — they were both guillotined in 1793.
She had a great love for jewellery and amassed a sumptuous collection, much of which was lost or dispersed during the French revolution.
the recent auction at Geneva featured ten items of her jewellery. By far the most precious lot was her pearl pendant, which sold for £25 million. alongside this was a diamond- set monogrammed ring containing a lock of her hair.
these were some of the jewels left with her retainer, Count Mercy argenteau, when she prepared to escape from France in March 1791. the collection travelled to Vienna via Brussels in a wooden chest.
in 1796, it was handed over to Marie antoinette’s daughter Marie-therese after she was released from prison. She had no children and passed the jewels to her niece and adopted daughter.
they were owned by relatives until they were auctioned.
Some of the jewels worn by Marie antoinette are on public display. the most famous is the giant 140.5- carat regent diamond.
it was bought in 1717 by Philippe ii, Duke of orleans and regent of France, from whom it acquired its name.
the gem was set in the crown Louis XV wore at his coronation and then used to decorate a large black velvet hat worn by his daughter-in-law, Marie antoinette. in 1791, its value was £480,000, which is equivalent to £53 million today. after he came to power, napoleon used the diamond for the pommel of his sword.
it was then mounted on the crowns of Louis XViii, Charles X and napoleon iii before it was finally set in a Greek diadem designed for empress eugenie, napoleon iii’s wife. it remains in the French royal treasury at the Louvre and has been on display since 1887.
a pair of Marie antoinette’s diamond earrings are in the Smithsonian institution in Washington. Said to have been the Queen’s favourites, they were a gift from her husband. they were subsequently owned by the Grand Duchess tatiana of russia, from whose family Pierre Cartier bought them in 1928. they were then acquired by U.S. socialite Marjorie Merriweather, whose daughter eleanor Barzin donated them to the museum.
Erika Simeon, London W6. the French crown jewels comprise the crowns, orb, sceptres, diadems and jewels that were symbols of royal power. the set was broken up and sold in 1885 by the French third republic.
the surviving crowns, diadems and parures — matching jewellery designed to be worn at the same time — are on display in the Louvre’s Galerie d’apollon. Many of the other gems were sold and replaced with glass copies.
Frank Laver, Huntingdon, Cambs.
QUESTION Has any leader of a country committed suicide while in power?
the obvious answer is hitler, who killed himself after it became clear he was going to lose the war. a hotly disputed example is former Chilean president Salvador allende. a socialist, he won the presidency in 1970 in a close threeway race. on September 11, 1973, the military moved to oust him in a Cia-backed coup led by General augusto Pinochet. as troops surrounded La Moneda Palace in Santiago, allende made a speech vowing not to resign. Later that day, he committed suicide with an assault rifle. For years it has been suggested he was murdered, but an investigation in 2011 concluded it was suicide.
antonio Guzman was the 46th president of the Dominican republic from 1978 to 1982. he instigated agricultural reforms and stabilised the economy.
on July 4, 1982, shortly before he was due to stand down, he shot himself in the presidential palace.
it is believed he was disgusted by corruption in parliament.
Jonathan Sargent, Liverpool.