The books used to produce this podcast included:
“The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust,” by Diana Henriquez
“Betrayal: The Life and Lies of Bernie Madoff,” by Andrew Kirtzman
“Madoff With the Money,” by Jerry Oppenheimer
The music that appeared on this podcast included:
Intro, Part One and Outro, Part Two was:
“The Loner,” by DJ Williams and
Outro, Part One and Intro, Part Two was:
Cover Charge by Track Tribe
Long before Harry and Meghan, a much more serious crisis and scandal enveloped the British monarchy and the House of Windsor, the abdication of Edward VIII
The future Edward VIII, known within his immediate family by the nickname of David, was born on June 23, 1894. His father, George V, did not become the king until 1910, then anointing David, his eldest son, with the title of Prince of Wales, next in the line of royal succession. David was educated as a cadet at the Royal Naval College, went on to Oxford and also joined the Royal Navy. When war broke out in 1914 he was assigned to a safe but extremely tedious post at Allied headquarters in France. Although on paper Great Britain emerged victorious from the Great War, the cost in both casualties and expense was enormous. Across Europe, many royal dynasties were either rendered obsolete or even completely destroyed including the ruling houses of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Imperial Russia, the latter most disturbing as the Romanovs were literally exterminated by the Bolsheviks.
Actually born Bessie Wallis Warfield, on June 19, 1896, Wallis’ parents came from prominent Maryland families. Unfortunately, Wallis’ father died of tuberculosis only months after her birth and her mother Alice’s family had disowned her as a result of the marriage, probably because her daughter was conceived out of wedlock. The infant and her mother then were supported by her deceased husband’s wealthy brother and her mother’s sister Bessie, until 1908 when Wallis’ mother remarried. Her uncle paid for a prep school education and Wallis was socially prominent and attractive enough to be designated as a Baltimore debutante, although the outbreak of World War I suspended such frivolity. Not wild about some of the suitors hanging around Wallis in Maryland, her mother decided it might be a good idea to send her to Pensacola, Florida, where her cousin, Corinne was married to an officer who was the commander of the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. Also feeling that Wallis was competitively trying to get married, her mother also figured that dropping her daughter into a brand new environment might slow Wallis down.
As early as the age of sixteen, discussion concerning an appropriate mate for the Prince of Wales began. An obvious candidate, the daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm, eighteen year old Viktoria Luise, rejected him as too young. He received some additional leeway when George V issued a 1917 proclamation allowing royalty to marry a non-royal subject, the first time even the potential for a commoner to achieve such status became possible. This edict, at the height of World War I, also originated the term , “the House of Windsor,” changing the dynasty name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, an attempt to obfuscate the British monarchy’s German connection and to encourage future relationships outside of the German nobility.
Things came to a head in mid-November when Baldwin also informed Edward that if he insisted on the marriage, the government would resign. Edward responded by threatening to abdicate if he was not allowed to marry Wallis Simpson. On November 16, at a private dinner he informed his mother Queen Mary of his intention, a revelation that shocked her, no one in the Windsor family really believing that Edward would seriously consider such a drastic course of action, over a common, American divorcee.
But, after thinking it over, Wallis decided to head for France, believing that if she appeared to be involved in any final decisions, she would be blamed for any fallout. Two days later, she arrived at the chateau, above the city of Cannes in southern France, the world press nipping at her heels. Any attempts to speak directly to the king were difficult, connections poor to the extent that the conversations consisted of Wallis yelling: Do Not abdicate. Do nothing reckless. Listen to your friends!
Only a few miles out of Fort Belvedere, Brownlow attempted to persuade Wallis to head for his manor house in Lincolnshire, explaining that she might better influence the king if she could maintain some reasonable proximity. In actuality, this was a desperate attempt to keep Wallis Simpson involved, officials like Churchill understanding how persuasive she could be.
The Duke and Duchess were greeted on October 11 in Berlin and escorted by ministers like Robert Ley and Joachim Von Ribbentrop. That evening they dined with both Albert Speer and Joseph Goebbels. Everywhere, the couple went they were treated with extreme deference, including Wallis Simpson who was continually addressed as your Royal Highness, a title she did not officially deserve as well as the subsequent curtsies. Other meetings followed with Herman Goering and even Hitler himself, photos from this historic event splashed on front pages all over the world. Several times the couple engaged in the Nazi salute, behavior they would come to regret. To any members still part of her inner circle Wallis maintained that they were merely tourists and the Duke insisted that the visit was not official. Throughout the visit, British consular officials were instructed that they were not to meet or assist the couple in any official capacity.
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Long before Harry and Meghan, a much more serious crisis and scandal enveloped the British monarchy and the House of Windsor, the abdication of Edward VIII
By mid-1934, even British high society insiders were aghast at what, “the little man,” as David was scornfully known as behind his back, had actually taken up with. When the Royal family deliberately deleted the Simpsons from the Royal guest list for the wedding of David’s brother, George, in November of 1934, the Prince of Wales personally interceded to get them reinvited. Probably thinking that a good offense is the best defense, Wallis showed up in expensive jewelry and a tiara that certainly her husband could not afford and could have only been gifted by David. Outraged, King George V then personally barred the couple from any subsequent, official Royal events but the relationship blatantly continued, with Wallis receiving cash and gifts, usually gems that today would be on the order of tens of millions of dollars.
Finally, Edward called her back and personally told her that the abdication was inevitable. Wallis Simpson’s unromantic and blunt response, recorded by French secret police, was predictable. “You goddamned fool!” Inexplicably, Edward decided to give up his throne, allegedly over Wallis Simpson, without even involving her in the decision or even formally asking her to marry him during this time period or even subsequently. On December 11, he proceeded with his famous speech, explaining his decision to abdicate, allegedly over his relationship with Wallis Simpson. Even his subsequent departure from Britain was haphazard, Edward now officially the Duke of Windsor, winding up at an Austrian mansion owned by a Rothschild, a personal favor to Lord Brownlow. Because Wallis Simpson was still technically married, the Duke and Wallis would have to remain separated until the Simpson divorce was final.
With no diplomatic or professional responsibilities, the Windsors than turned to figuring out exactly where they wanted to live, eventually settling upon the the Chateau de la Croe, a large mansion sized estate on the Cap D’Antibes. Initially, this was where Wallis had wanted to get married, in May of 1938, they leased the property. Shortly thereafter they began the process of ingratiating themselves with whatever local members of French and American members of high society would accept their dinner invitations, the Duchess spending most of her time planning these dinner events. For a year and a half, life revolved around furnishing their new home and their socializing, events that always began with a formal introduction by servants of Wallis Simpson as Her Royal Highness. If the Duke and Duchess were living the lives of the idle rich this was essentially on someone else’s dime.
As the sixties dawned, shunned by the British aristocracy, no longer of much interest to anyone in the US other than facilitators of best dressed lists, on the eve of a generation more interested in personalities like the Beatles, the Windsors began to fade from public relevance. Other than the occasional White House invitation, they became politically invisible.
As the sixties ticked by the Windsors devolved from world famous celebrity status to an existence seemingly out of a Dickens novel. Despite their immense wealth, they openly paid their servants twenty per cent less than the going rate stating that it was a privilege to work for them. This despite homes crammed with every possibly amenity for both the Duke and Duchess and their guests, toilet tissue literally unrolled and folded into squares.
By then the Duke’s health was deteriorating rapidly. One eye was mostly closed due to complications from cataracts, circulatory issues were now pronounced after a lifetime of heavy smoking which also eventually caused throat cancer, arthritis forcing him to limp along with a cane and preventing him from golf or even working in the garden. By May of 1972, the end was clearly approaching, signaled by the first and only visit to the Duke’s Paris home by Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Phillip and accompanied by Prince Charles. It lasted a perfunctory thirty minutes. To one of the last of the many American socialites who spent time with the Windsors in their last years he reflected, “The duchess gave me everything that I lacked from my family. She gave me comfort and love and kindness.”
The Duke of Windsor’s body was flown to Great Britain and dignified with the usual ceremonies, including lying publicly in state at St. George’s Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle the traditional burial place for British Kings and Queens since Henry VIII. The Duchess of Windsor was flown to these ceremonies separately where she interacted with the rest of the Royal family who treated her with chilly dignity. Although as a former King of England the Duke of Windsor was entitled to burial at St. George’s, he was instead interred by previous agreement at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore Estate. This cemetery was established to handle the overflow from the Royal Vault at St. George’s as space there became restricted for actual monarchs and those in direct succession. Frogmore Estate is owned by the British Royal family and is only open to the public six days out of the year. In addition, the royal burial ground which contains the Duke of Windsor’s gravestone is restricted from public access by a high iron fence, for the former Edward VIII a kind of British Royal Siberia.
The Duchess of Windsor’s modest April 29, 1986 funeral ceremony at St. George’s Chapel was well attended by members of the royal family. However, her coffin had no flag or standard and its plaque omitted the HRH title before her name inscribed as Wallis, Duchess of Windsor-1896-1986. The hearse containing her coffin proceeded along private roads to exclude any public acknowledgement. Only fifteen individuals were present at her graveside ceremony, including the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, but the Queen Mother on the advice of Queen Elizabeth did not attend. The Duchess of Windsor was buried side by side with her husband at Frogmore, the only commoner in the cemetery, her headstone also omitted the HRH title, the Duke and Duchess of Windsors’ social, political and geographic exile now eternally complete.
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The books used in this podcast included:
“Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor,” by Andrew Lownie.
“Wallis In Love: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy,” by Andrew Morton.
“17 Carnations: The Royals, the Nazis, and the Biggest Cover-Up in History,” by Andrew Morton.
The music intro for this episode was: “High Noon,” by Track Tribe, and the outro was, “Savior,” by Telecasted.
In July of 1954, an obscure milk shake mixer salesman walked into a fast food restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. The restaurant was operated by two brothers named McDonald, the result of this interaction profoundly changed American culture, business and nutrition forever.
Ray Kroc first interacted with Prince Castle as the Chicago based account manager for Lily-Tulip and sensing the enormous potential of the Multimixer device, he secured the national distribution rights for the machine in 1939. For two years he rapidly increased sales, his customers mostly the corner drug stores and soda fountains that were a mainstay of urban America.
Just as Kroc began to build national momentum for his sales distribution company, America entered World War II, a development that cut off two staples necessary for his continued growth. Civilian access to copper, a critical element of his Multimixer motors was halted, any supplies of this metal earmarked for military consumption. Sugar was also heavily rationed so that products like ice cream were virtually unavailable during wartime. Rather than shutting down, Kroc improvised, determined to tough it out until the end of the war. He found two additive products, consisting of mostly corn syrup and a chemical stabilizer that when mixed with chilled milk resulted in something that mimicked ice cream.
The McDonalds were not even the first to market specialty hamburgers in southern California. In 1937, a Glendale, California owner of a drive-in restaurant , Robert Wian, invented a double decker hamburger sandwich slathered with various condiments and toppings that was so successful, he called it the Big Boy, and prompted a restaurant name change to Bob’s Big Boy, eventually another successful nationwide hamburger chain. The McDonalds brothers would impact the rapidly evolving American fast food landscape by implementing some concepts that were, at the time, revolutionary. Although quite successful, their drive-in restaurant incorporated the car-hop delivery system, in which individuals, usually teenaged females offered curb or parking lot service on a tray, which was popular with teenagers but turned their location into a hangout where the parking lot was filled with leather jacketed youngsters who took up space for hours and also alienated older families with children who did not like such an atmosphere.
It was in early 1954 that Kroc decided that at the very least, to try and buck up his sales numbers, he wanted to learn more about a restaurant run by two brothers in San Bernadino, California who had ordered ten Multimixers for their small Southern California location. He even asked his West coast rep how such a small restaurant could need enough machines to prepare as many as sixty shakes at a time and then decided he would go see for himself. If nothing else, this restaurant was generating orders from other hamburger joints that were trying to copy this business, called McDonalds, to duplicate their wild success.
As the carhop-hangout atmosphere dissipated, working class families began to descend on the restaurant in greater numbers, eating at a restaurant now a viable economic alternative. Children also enjoyed going up to the window, ordering and then bringing back the food to their car, all under the watchful eyes of their parents, a lesson in independence. The building itself was different with an octagonal shape and glassed in design from the roof to the countertop, the always immaculate kitchen, with its stainless steel, grills and efficient employees a revelation to most customers who had never set eyes on a restaurant’s interior. On the roof was a huge neon sign with the MacDonald’s name, and their mascot Speedy, the symbol for what they dubbed the, “Speedy Delivery System.” Within a year, the restaurant regained the same volume it had before its realignment. It further streamlined its production line process with customized tools, and extremely specific guidelines. And, perhaps to maintain a focused, completely businesslike approach, especially among younger employees, only males were hired. McDonalds mushroomed into a high volume, unique operation with eventually spectacular results.
Ray Kroc was also not the first individual to discuss potentially franchising the McDonald’s name and concept. In fact, by the time Kroc approached them the brothers had actually sold fifteen franchises. Well, sort of. What they sold was a manual describing the Speedy Delivery Service, some building plans, one week of training with a store manager and the McDonald’s name for a fee of $1,000. They specifically did not provide any financial or business connection on any ongoing basis, the franchisee strictly on their own. Even this process was something that Mac and Dick did not pursue aggressively.
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In July of 1954, an obscure milk shake mixer salesman walked into a fast food restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. The restaurant was operated by two brothers named McDonald, the result of this interaction profoundly changed American culture, business and nutrition forever.
Despite four decades and many years of dealing with a virtual absentee husband and serious anxiety over their household debt, Eleanor Kroc was still hanging in on the marriage. That is until, in 1961, when Kroc said he wanted a divorce. Ethel settled for the house, the Lincoln automobile and 30,000 dollars a year in alimony. Part of Kroc’s decision to divorce stemmed from a relationship that began when he met a potential licensee at an upscale restaurant. The keyboard player and singer at this restaurant was a stunning blonde named Joan Smith. Kroc was so smitten that he could barely focus on the meeting, with Bob Zien, who owned this restaurant, the Criterion. Zien hired Joan Smith’s husband Rawley Smith to manage his first McDonalds and entered into a partnership with Smith when Zien purchased a second franchise. Because the Smith’s were then part of the McDonalds corporate family, they frequently interacted with Ray Kroc, who eventually verbalized his romantic feelings to Joan directly. They agreed to leave their spouses, Kroc and Joan relocating to Woodland Hills, CA in late 1961. They needed to cohabitate for six weeks to be able to get a quickie Nevada divorce but five weeks into the arrangement, Joan balked. Her daughter disliked Kroc immediately and her mother was appalled. Kroc had already sold his ownership of his Prince Castle distribution company to senior executives for 150,000 dollars, essentially a loan, and was committed to relocating to the West Coast, anyway, to personally spearhead McDonald’s West Coast expansion. Joan eventually had second thoughts about breaking off the engagement, but by then Kroc had moved on.
Kroc’s McDonald’s operation was mushrooming in size and he realized both his own personal limitations and that he needed to assemble a corporate structure to manage such a fast growing entity. He already identified Fred Turner as an individual he wanted to include in his inner management circle.
Once he delegated the operation of McDonalds to Fred Turner, Ray Kroc became as much of a media personality and company spokesman as opposed to a serious hands on administrator, something he never really enjoyed anyway. He no longer had to worry much about business in any case.
In 1973, a golden opportunity presented itself to Kroc that for him was the perfect outlet. Based on his mid-western middle class Chicago roots, Kroc loved baseball and the Chicago Cubs and once his net worth became considerable, he made several inquiries into actually buying the team. The long time owners, the Wrigley family were not interested in selling but in San Diego, the owner of baseball’s Padres, C. Arnholt Smith was battling his own bank’s failure, IRS demands for back taxes and fraud and embezzlement allegations. He quickly sold off the Padres to a group intent on moving the team to Washington, DC but when the city of San Diego sued to block the deal, Smith couldn’t afford to wait. Ray Kroc emerged as a civic hero quickly ponying up 12 million dollars for the team.
After many years of very visible philanthropy, Joan Kroc began to step out of the limelight finding that with each gift or charity event, she was besieged by countless requests and pleas from thousands of determined individuals and organizations. She never stopped giving money away, she just became much more spontaneous and anonymous, not wishing to spend her time fending off the public and frequently inspired by some news report of a particularly dreadful event. She also spent much of the late nineties working with the San Diego chapter of the Salvation Army to create a community center, a kind of athletic and fitness facility, library auditorium, outdoor swimming pool and even an ice rink all rolled into one. In 2002, 87 million dollars later, this 12 acre, 132,000 square foot facility became a reality, the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
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The books used to develop this podcast include:
“McDonald’s: Behind the Arches,” by John F. Love
“Fast Food Nation,” by Eric Schlosser
“Ray and Joan,” by Lisa Napoli
The intro music for this podcast is entitled, “Good Starts,” by Jingle Punks
The outro for this podcast is entitled, “Spirit Riders,” by Telecasted
In 1770, the French people greeted Austrian Marie Antoinette as the beautiful and future French queen. Twenty-three years later they guillotined her as the most reviled woman in France.
In Europe, with most political powers ruled by monarchies, the best method of insuring a stable alliance with another ruling dynasty was through marriage. Maria Theresa aggressively forged alliances with the French Bourbons dynasty through marriages of her daughters Maria Amalia and Maria Karolina to the rulers of the Italian duchies of Parma and Naples. But her most ambitious union was reserved for her youngest daughter, Maria Antonia.
Maria Theresa gave birth to sixteen children, unusually thirteen survived into at least early childhood, including the second youngest, Maria Antonia. As the house of Hapsburg was decidedly Roman Catholic all ten of the Empress’ daughters had the first name of Maria, an acknowledgement of the Virgin Mary. Maria Theresa was a workaholic who spent most of her days focused on the affairs of state, but she closely supervised the tutors and nannies who were responsible for her children’s upbringing and education. Her strong work ethic and stubborn determination were fortunate personality traits. Only months after her ascension, many of the European monarchs who had formally agreed with her father to recognize her as his heir renounced this agreement, perhaps sensing weakness. Frederick the Great’s 1740 invasion of the Austrian province of Silesia set off an eight-year war that eventually involved all of the great powers of Europe. It was not until 1748 that diplomacy resolved this conflict, and firmly established Maria Theresa as de facto Holy Roman Empress and Archduchess of Austria, but Prussia and Frederick remained hostile and within eight years another war broke out. The Seven Years War strengthened Austria’s profile in Europe but the immense cost of this conflict convinced the Empress that diplomacy was a much more reasonable way to maintain political power and preserve her domain.
In Europe, with most political powers ruled by monarchies, the best method of insuring a stable alliance with another ruling dynasty was through marriage. Maria Theresa aggressively forged alliances with the French Bourbons dynasty through marriages of her daughters Maria Amalia and Maria Karolina to the rulers of the Italian duchies of Parma and Naples. But her most ambitious union was reserved for her youngest daughter, Maria Antonia. Approximately the same age as the heir to the French crown, the grandson of France’s King Louis XV seemed an obvious match and serious negotiations began between the two courts to make this wedding happen. A special tutor, the Abbe Jacques de Vermond was brought to Vienna’s Hofburg palace from France to improve the teenager’s language skills and overall social polish, underlining the serious nature of the discussion. A French dentist even surgically and painfully straightened her teeth. But this was only the beginning of a process demanded by Louis XV, that focused obsessively on the physical appearance of France’s potential queen. Louis’ womanizing exceeded that of even his royal contemporaries, the famous mistresses Madame Du Pompadour and Madame Du Barry among the dozens of women achieving notoriety during his fifty-nine-year reign.
In April of 1770, Maria Theresa packed off her daughter as well as the Abbe de Vermond, by then subtly cultivated as the Empress’ eventual eyes and ears once the marriage took place and Maria Antonia began a journey that proved emotionally overwhelming. This trip started on April 21, 1770, in the main courtyard of Vienna’s Hofburg, the sprawling palace of Austrian emperors and in this case the Empress, Maria Therese. The empress’ daughter was placed in a magnificent gilded carriage, saluted by a crowd of patrician well-wishers and Swiss Guard ceremonial rifle volleys, and then sent off while all of the church bells of the city pealed in a congratulatory farewell.
Although Marie’s Austrian royal family lived in the sprawling Hofburg complex and also constructed the impressive Schonbrunn Palace on the outskirts of Vienna, probably nothing prepared her for the grandiosity of the seat of the French monarchy. Built by Louis XIV as not only a statement of his national superiority and absolute power, the king also wished to contain all of the members of his court under one roof. Hundreds of apartments were provided for those members of French society who were prominent enough to merit such status. But Louis’ ostensible generosity concealed an underlying motive, that of keeping the nobility under his literal eye and stripping them of any political power or even ability to unite against his absolute rule. Thousands of inhabitants lived within the palace, which could hold as many as ten thousand residents but typically housed between two and four thousand occupants.
Louis XVI also attempted to remove any legacy of the former mistress, the Madame de Pompadour, by officially presenting his wife the Petit Trianon, a small chateau on the grounds of Versailles, formerly built and occupied by De Pompadour. Initially, the ascension of the new king and his beautiful wife was greeted by the public with happiness and the young couple was popular, the staggering deficits and disastrous foreign policy of Louis XV rendering him a bad memory. It was hoped that a new reign would also bring new attitudes and a new direction.
Marginalized politically, with her husband’s chief advisors hostile to Austria, Marie Antoinette immersed herself in a pastime meant to underline her status as the court’s most important female. She began the practice of weekly masked, costumed balls, centered around various themes, her costumes sparing no expense and distinguishing her from her guests with spectacular clothing. Her husband, perhaps guilty at his ongoing sexual disinterest allowed her to spend fantastic amounts on her wardrobe and the parties themselves which frequently lasted until dawn. These exercises were undertaken to at least publicly maintain the façade that Marie Antoinette enjoyed great influence with the king and she hoped over time to regain the same political prestige as that of Louis XV’s mistresses.
Mortality suddenly intervened in the spring of 1774 to permanently change the relatively vapid routine of the heir and his wife. On April 27, Louis XV went hunting with his entourage but suddenly felt too sick to even leave his carriage. By May 3 even he acknowledged that the red lesions on his body were indicative of smallpox. The king lasted another week, many accounts stating that in his final hours he uttered the phrase “Apres moi, le deluge,” After me, the deluge, a supposed acknowledgement that the financial excesses and utter governmental mismanagement of France could only result in catastrophe. Like many storied quotations, this one most likely never occurred but it should have and it was a fitting admonition for especially the now Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette.
On the 19th of August, the Commune removed all eight non-royal members of the entourage. Most were eventually released unharmed, one, Marie, Princess de Lamballe, a close friend and confidante of Marie Antoinette, who had faithfully remained with the Queen during her recent ordeals was dragged before an impromptu September 3rd Commune tribunal at her new prison location. These tribunals, a violent response meant to liquidate any prisoners formerly associated with the monarchy, were convened as a result of the Austro-Prussian offensive that initially made great progress in its intent to overturn the Revolution. Asked to swear loyalty to the new government and to denounce the King and Queen, the Princess de Lamballe affirmed the former but refused the latter, stating that whether she died then or shortly thereafter was not worth her honor and dignity. Released into the courtyard she was beaten and stabbed to death by a mob assembled to execute those condemned by the tribunal with the words, Let them go,” the victim unaware that this was actually a death sentence. The Princess’ body was beheaded, disemboweled and her remains paraded through the city on pikes, this procession reaching the Temple with the intent to display this grisly artifact to the King and Queen. Although she did not see this display, Marie Antoinette fainted upon hearing about the fate of her former friend. This killing, and hundreds of others that occurred during this incident became known as the September Massacres.
Convinced that he was on the verge of a great political restoration and even deluded enough to believe that Marie Antoinette was physically attracted to him, De Rohan now reached out to the jewelers, who were also blinded by their zeal to unload the necklace. With, unbeknownst to him, forged letters in hand from the purported Marie Antoinette, requesting that the Cardinal act as her representative, a deal was negotiated whereby the necklace would be paid for in installments. Of course, the transaction was to occur amidst the utmost secrecy, a condition De La Motte could not emphasize enough. The necklace was secured by the Bishop, he then was instructed to turn it over to an individual described as a valet of the Queen, in fact Nicholas de la Motte, who hastily fled to London. By the time the alleged count arrived in England, the diamonds had been pried out of their settings, many damaged during the process, but still able to be fenced. Jean De La Motte briefly fended off both the Cardinal and the jewelers by forwarding token sums as “installments,” but by July of 1785, with Marie Antoinette having never worn the elaborate necklace publicly or reaching out to the Cardinal to acknowledge his noble deed and De La Motte no longer making any installments, both parties decided that it was time to act. A letter dictated by the Cardinal, and signed and sent by Boehmer was meant to subtly remind the Queen of both her new acquisition and financial obligation. But Marie Antoinette was so baffled by the July 12th letter that after discussing it with her first lady in waiting, Henriette Campan, she burnt it, thinking only that Boehmer was somehow trying to peddle her some more jewelry. Disturbed and now alarmed by any lack of response Boehmer waited until the 3rd of August before showing up at Henriette Campan’s residence. Campan was so shocked by first his insistent claim that the queen had made such a byzantine purchase and the details surrounding those involved, that she decided against informing the queen herself, advising that Boehmer should take the matter up with the Minister of the Royal Household.
In 1775, the Comte and Comtesse de Polignac, like many other members of the French nobility, visited Versailles to pay their respects to the new king and queen. Although aristocratic the couple had fallen on hard times and were deeply in debt. The Comtesse, Yolande Gabrielle de Polignac, was extremely pretty and immediately ingratiated herself with Marie Antoinette, who encouraged her to spend more time at court. The Polignac debt was quickly taken care of by the king and upon the birth of Marie’s first child, Gabrielle was named governess, a lucrative official position. The post also came with a palace apartment, in this case a luxurious spread of thirteen rooms. Her husband Jules de Polignac also received several paid court positions as well as the title of Duc de Polignac. Other family members received considerable pensions paid out for virtually no responsibility. Because Marie enjoyed her company, Louis XVI was enthusiastic about such expense, if only to placate his wife. When Gabrielle’s daughter married into another noble family, the king paid the dowry, equivalent to millions of dollars today. Marie Antoinette’s affection for her best friend was further underlined by the assignment of one of the cottages constructed in the faux village of the Petit Trianon to Madame de Polignac, in an area that was physically off limits to all but the most prominent members of the French court. Gabrielle’s new son-in-law was immediately named captain of the guards, her brother in law ambassador to Switzerland. The de Polignac’s became quite unpopular at court, they did their best to exploit their new positions, and isolated other courtiers from Marie, as no one could enter her inner circle without the Comtesse de Polignac’s approval. Their initial lowly status made their receipt of such largesse a point of deep resentment amidst the intensely status conscious world of Versailles. This animus prompted external gossip about such extravagance, the De Polignac’s hated by the public as much as Marie Antoinette herself. With no guarantee of their personal security, the entire extended family fled the country on July 15, one day after the storming of the Bastille.
But neither Marie or her husband would be respected as dutiful monarchs if the continued sexual reticence of the king prevented any progress in the process of producing an heir. When Louis XVI’s younger brother married and produced a son in 1775, this only increased the pressure on the sovereigns to behave accordingly. This issue became so serious especially for the Austrian court because they would lose any connection to the French throne if Marie Antoinette did not give birth, that it was decided that Maria Theresa’s son, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and heir to the Austrian throne would visit his sister to attempt to get to the bottom as to what exactly was holding up the process. Although happy to see any relative, the Queen was also apprehensive as her elder brother frequently could be insensitive and critical and had already admonished her in numerous letters over the current situation. In April of 1777, travelling incognito as Count Falkenstein to avoid any embarrassing attention over his mission, the Emperor also resorted to a plain wardrobe and an absence of medals and decorations. To avoid the time wasting rituals of Versailles, he stayed in a nearby hotel, maximizing his interaction with both his sister and Louis XVI. He spent a great deal of time with his sister but also had some frank discussions with the king as to what exactly was required in this situation. Whatever difficulty or apathy that formerly plagued the king subsided and shortly after her brother’s visit, Marie Antoinette was able to report to her mother that more than seven years after his wedding day, Louis XVI successfully consummated his marriage.
Maria Therese was able to survive the excesses of the Revolution, eventually exchanged for various French dignitaries imprisoned throughout Europe. France would then undergo the Reign of Terror, the ascendance of Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars that resulted in a restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in 1814. Louis XVI’s brother, the Comte de Provence was crowned Louis XVIII after Napoleon’s exile to Elba. His reign interrupted by the one hundred days and Waterloo, he ruled until 1824, when he was succeeded by the Comte D’Artois, Louis XVI’s youngest brother as Charles X, a ruler so odious and reactionary that he prompted a second popular revolution, an event that caused his abdication. Officially, his son, known historically as Louis XIX, reigned for twenty minutes, while Marie Therese, the daughter of Marie Antoinette, now married to the prospective king of France, begged him not to abdicate. He refused, signing off on any claim to the throne, but in this final flickering twilight of the French monarchy, Marie Antoinette’s daughter reigned briefly as the last Queen of France.
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In 1770, the French people greeted Austrian Marie Antoinette as the beautiful and future French queen. Twenty-three years later they guillotined her as the most reviled woman in France.
The affair of the Diamond Necklace had its origin in a piece of jewelry that was commissioned by Louis XV in 1772 and meant as a gift for his mistress, the Madame Du Barry. He requested that the royal jewelers Charles Boehmer and Paul Bassenge create a diamond necklace that exceeded anything previously produced. On spec, the two men took great pains to assemble a creation that incorporated a great number of exquisite diamonds in a staggeringly large and ornate necklace. Called, “The Slave’s Collar,” and consisting of over 2800 carats of diamonds, the worth of this necklace today has been estimated to be as high as one hundred million dollars. Unfortunately, the King died before this accoutrement could be finalized, the jewelers now stuck with a very expensive piece of jewelry and an extremely small pool of potential buyers, the most obvious Louis XVI. But twice, in 1778 and again in 1781, for one reason or another both the King and Marie Antoinette declined to purchase the necklace. Unsold, this became the basis of an elaborate confidence scheme hatched by a socially and financially ambitious woman who called herself the Comtesse Jeanne de la Motte.
By late 1784, Jeanne had ingratiated herself as the mistress of the Cardinal de Rohan, not only a member of the powerful de Rohan noble family but a former diplomat deployed in Vienna to the court of Maria Theresa. Unfortunately, his dissolute lifestyle and anti-Austrian bias earned him the antagonism of the Empress, who in turn delivered her opinion of the Cardinal to Marie Antoinette. Upon Louis XVI assuming the throne, De Rohan, most likely upon the urging of the Queen, was hastily recalled. Understanding that the Cardinal was desperate to improve his status within the French court, Jeanne de La Motte convinced De Rohan that she was well connected to especially Marie Antoinette. In fact, through a forger, fellow huckster and also feigned aristocrat Armand Retaux de Villette, Jeanne was able to access the French Court. She further convinced de Rohan that the Queen had officially acknowledged her and that Marie Antoinette held her in high esteem. De Rohan then began what he thought was a correspondence with the Queen, receiving letters in return that were actually forged by Retaux de Villette. Blinded by his ambition, De Rohan did not hesitate when Jeanne began asking for loans and even produced signed letters which requested that he help the Queen secretly acquire the, “Slave’s Collar,” to avoid public and even Louis XVI’s awareness of such an exorbitant purchase, an acquisition that might inflame hostility over royal expenditures even further. To add further credibility to the scheme, De La Motte and Retaux de Villette staged a nocturnal, secret liaison between the Cardinal and a woman he thought was Marie Antoinette. In fact, the two confederates hired a prostitute who resembled the queen, Nicole d’Oliva, the three arranging to meet the Cardinal in a remote corner of the gardens of Versailles. In the darkness, d’Oliva, dressed fashionably, approached the Cardinal, handed him a rose and breathlessly intoned, “You know what this means, the past will be forgotten” before quickly and stealthily retreating.
Convinced that he was on the verge of a great political restoration and even deluded enough to believe that Marie Antoinette was physically attracted to him, De Rohan now reached out to the jewelers, who were also blinded by their zeal to unload the necklace. With, unbeknownst to him, forged letters in hand from the purported Marie Antoinette, requesting that the Cardinal act as her representative, a deal was negotiated whereby the necklace would be paid for in installments. Of course, the transaction was to occur amidst the utmost secrecy, a condition De La Motte could not emphasize enough. The necklace was secured by the Bishop, he then was instructed to turn it over to an individual described as a valet of the Queen, in fact Nicholas de la Motte, who hastily fled to London. By the time the alleged count arrived in England, the diamonds had been pried out of their settings, many damaged during the process, but still able to be fenced.
Marie Antoinette’s son and heir, the dauphin Louis Charles, already considered by royalist emigres as the de facto Louis XVII, was treated just as brutally. After his mother’s execution, he was placed in a solitary, damp cell, fed through the bars, with little interaction with his jailers. He endured such conditions for sixth months, until a change in government allowed for the improvement of his confinement. By then he had contracted tuberculosis, the ailment which killed him on June 8, 1795, aged ten years old.
Louis XVI’s brother, the Comte de Provence was crowned Louis XVIII after Napoleon’s exile to Elba. His reign interrupted by the one hundred days and Waterloo, he ruled until 1824.
Louis XVI’s youngest brother as Charles X, a ruler so odious and reactionary that he prompted a second popular revolution, an event that caused his abdication.
Back at the Temple, Marie Antoinette was not formally told of her husband’s death but the noise and tumult from the street down below told her and her family everything they needed to know. From that day on, she received and wore black mourning clothes and descended into a hopeless depression.
On July 3rd, Marie’s status took an ominous turn when she was informed by her jailers that she was to be separated from her son. Additional Austrian victories now placed Paris in even greater danger. As a result, at two o’clock in the morning on August 2, Marie Antoinette was transferred to the Conciergerie, a much more secure and foreboding courthouse and prison. There was no attempt to spruce up her new environment or disguise its intent, the damp brick, bed, rudimentary chair and bucket toilet of a prison cell. A hapless attempt by royal sympathizers within the prison known as the Carnation plot only served to tighten the security around Marie Antoinette. From then on armed sentries remained in her cell, subdivided with a simple wooden screen which did little to protect Marie’s modesty.
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