Marie Antoinette’s diamond bracelets fetch £7m at auction

Price for two items smashes pre-sale estimates amid growing interest in former French queen's belongings

Two diamond bracelets that Marie Antoinette sent away in a wooden chest for safekeeping before she was guillotined during the French Revolution, have sold at auction in Geneva for 7.46m Swiss francs (7.04m).

The sum was several times higher than the pre-sale estimate, amid a growing interest in items of jewellery and clothing belonging to the former French queen. The buyer was bidding by telephone and not identified.