https://www.smithsonianmag.com/
The 10.38-carat gemstone, which carries an estimate of $3 million to $5 million, was owned by generations of European royalty
On the night of June 20, 1791, as the French Revolution raged in Paris, the French royal family donned disguises and started an ill-fated escape eastward toward Montmédy, where they expected to find protection among royalist troops.
Instead, they were recognized and arrested in the small town of Varennes-en-Argonne, roughly 30 miles from their destination. Revolutionaries hauled them back to Paris and confined them in the Tuileries Palace under armed guard.
The royals’ reputation plummeted in the wake of their so-called Flight to Varennes. As the public realized that Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, had no intention of ceding to the revolutionaries’ demands, calls to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic proliferated. Both the king and the queen were executed by guillotine in 1793.
For the rest of this article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/smuggled-out-of-france-during-bloody-revolution-marie-antoinettes-shimmering-pink-diamond-is-heading-to-auction-180986764/