One day, the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, expressed a wish to her husband, King Louis XVI, that she would like a new necklace, as the royal jewelers had recently reported a wonderful collection of diamonds. The King refused, and she rejected the idea of buying it. However, the Queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossip, was further sullied when the very expensive diamond necklace was commissioned, and her signature was upon the commission. She refused to pay for it, and it was found that Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy had forged her signature. Although Jeanne was later convicted, the event remains historically significant as one of many that led to the French disillusionment with the monarchy, in that it was one of the contemporary scandals that gave moral weight and popular support for the French Revolution.

The story appeared in The American Weekly under the title Plot Succeeded in Overthrowing Government.