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LONDON (Reuters) - British police are trying to track down jewelry once owned by the 18th century French Queen Marie Antoinette, which burglars snatched from a west London house.
The victim of the burglary, a 65-year-old woman living in Notting Hill, was a descendant of the lady-in-waiting to whom the queen gave the jewels, including a diamond-encrusted locket and matching earrings, in the turmoil of the French Revolution.
Marie Antoinette, who gave the woman the jewels when she realized what danger she was in, was later imprisoned and beheaded by revolutionaries, as was her husband Louis XVl.
"The victim is devastated. She has lost her family heirlooms and feels her home has been violated," Peter Langdon of the London police told Reuters on Friday.
Police believe two youths snatched the jewels without realizing they had royal connections and may have discarded them as apparently worthless.
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