Frederik Consequence (2024)
Swiss artist Frederik’s indie tunes feel like a summer boat ride on the lake, and it’s only when one listens past the mellow arrangement of “Consequence” that the break-up-y lyrics come to the fore: “Now you’re gone / and all is dark / I feel the consequence.” Whew. We’ve all been there—although few have been there more literally than a man named Rohan, who, before “feeling the consequence,” was led to believe that he was the lover of Marie-Antoinette. Yes, the Marie-Antoinette. Buckle in:
It’s Paris in 1785 and Cardinal de Rohan has a brand-new mistress called Jeanne de la Motte. Jeanne, a con lady and self-styled Countess, soon learns that Rohan had recently been sent abroad by the queen for a spell after falling out of favor with her—only to return wanting to make amends.
"That’s perfect," says Jeanne, "I’m at the French court all the time,” (that part is true) "and Marie-Antoinette and I are, like, besties!" (That part she is lying about.)
So, the Cardinal starts writing notes to Marie-Antoinette and has Jeanne deliver them. It works out great: The queen answers, and the notes Jeanne passes back and forth grow warmer in tone until the Cardinal finds himself in the midst of a love affair with the queen of France.
Meanwhile, the French royal jewelers, Böhmer and Passenge, have been sitting on an extravagant diamond necklace the late King Louis XV had made for a mistress of his. Unfortunately, he died before he could give it to her, and even though Böhmer and Passenge tried their best to convince Marie-Antoinette to buy the necklace off them, she never gave in.
So, when Jeanne boasts about her friendship with the queen around town, they’re like, “Hey, Jeanne, could you maybe get your BFF to finally buy this necklace please?”
“Sure,” says Jeanne, seeing an opportunity.
In the next love note Cardinal de Rohan receives from Marie-Antoinette, she instructs him to buy the very same necklace. (Of course, it’s Jeanne writing this—we’ve all cottoned on to the fact that the queen of France didn’t send a single one of those notes, right?) The French economy isn’t doing so hot, “Marie-Antoinette” writes, and it might look bad if she was seen buying expensive jewelry right now. Could Rohan perhaps buy the necklace for her and she’ll pay him back?
No worries, he can: Rohan shows up at the jewelers’ with the queen’s (fake) signature, pays a first installment, and brings the necklace to Jeanne so she can take it to the queen.
Except Jeanne has it picked apart and sells the diamonds on the black market.
The affair almost went unnoticed, at least until Rohan failed to pay the rest of the outstanding fee. The jewelers complained to the actual queen, who ordered an investigation, and brought Rohan, Jeanne and her accomplices on (public) trial. So, just like Frederik, who crafted today's song, the Cardinal sure did feel the consequence of his love affair—although unlike his lover Jeanne, he was found innocent.
(Jeanne escaped prison and fled to London, where she published her memoirs in 1789. A girl’s gotta live, right?)
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