CHEVALIER D’ÉON

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The chevalier d’Éon was born into an aristocratic Burgundian family. As a young man he was intellectually precocious. He showed himself to be a brilliant lawyer and a gifted writer. He also had a fondness for dressing as a woman.

Under King Louis XV, the French state not only had a diplomatic service it also had a covert, parallel organisation that was called the secret du roi. This enabled the monarch to mount surveillances of his own representatives while they were serving abroad. D’Éon took part in a French mission to Russia. During this, he showed himself to be both socially skilled and diplomatically adept. It is probable that he had formed some degree of association with the secret prior to this eastern journey.

D’Éon returned to France. The Seven Years’ War was in progress. During the 1761 campaigning season he fought in the French Army. The following year he was sent to London as a member of the delegation that sought to negotiate an end to the conflict. In 1763 a peace was agreed. Under this, a series of French colonies were ceded to Britain. Louis felt he had been humiliated. He dispatched a spy to undertake research to help prepare for the planning of an invasion of the United Kingdom.

A new French ambassador to Britain needed to be appointed. In the interim, d’Éon’s knowledge of London led to his being posted to the city to deputise the function. The rank of Minister-Plenipotentiary was conferred upon him. At this juncture, he was recruited into the secret. He was informed about the invasion plan. The official who was finally sent to head the embassy was the Count of Guerchy, who was a member of the faction at the French court that was led by Madame de Pompadour and the duc de Choiseul. This meant that he was an enemy of the secret.

D’Éon and his new superior soon quarrelled with one another and the chevalier seems to have become temporarily unhinged. He accused the diplomat of having tried to kill him. Louis formally agreed to the Pompadour-Choiseul faction’s demand that d’Éon should be recalled. However, surreptitiously the king sent word to him that he should go into hiding and make sure that his confidential papers were taken good care of. The French government formally asked that the chevalier should be extradited. The British one declined to meet the request.

D’Éon’s pension from the French state was stopped. In order to present himself suitably as a representative of France, he had been spending lavishly since his return to London. As a result, he had accumulated large debts. He responded to his predicament by publishing a book that consisted of the correspondence between himself and various members of the Pompadour-Choiseul faction. The volume made the French court a laughing stock across Europe. However, the chevalier was careful not to include any material that related to the secret or the invasion plan. This meant that he did not alienate Louis. Guerchy took exception to how he had been portrayed in the work and sued his colleague for libel in the English courts. The chevalier dragged up and disappeared into the streets of London. In his absence, he was found to be guilty by default.

From hiding, d’Éon fostered his interest with the secret and the French king by keeping them abreast of developments in British politics. He nurtured strong contacts in progressive circles; he became a friend of the populist M.P. John Wilkes. The high quality of the material was appreciated at Versailles. A former, London-based associate of Guerchy turned on the Ambassador and sued him in the English courts for having attempted to murder d’Éon. The London mob attacked Monmouth House, which was the Ambassador’s residence. Guerchy’s diplomatic presence in the city was held to be no longer tenable and he was recalled. The chevalier again began to receive a pension; it was to be paid irregularly. However, it would seem that in 1772 the secret and the French court concluded that the reason why d’Éon had been so adept at passing himself off as a woman was because he was one.

In 1774 Louis died. His son Louis XVI inherited the French throne. The new monarch closed down the secret. The chevalier was offered a pension in return for the secret papers that he still had in his possession. He was anxious about his financial liabilities, therefore, he mishandled the negotiations. A second round of parleying commenced. The following year a solution was agreed that addressed the issue of his debts. However, as part of the deal, d’Éon was required to assume female attire whenever he went about in public. In 1777 he returned to France. On a couple of occasions he dressed in male clothing. In one instance, he was ordered to resume wearing his appropriate apparel, and, in the other, he was placed in prison for several months.

In 1785, following the end of the American War of Independence, d’Éon returned to London. He still derived a degree of income from the French government and so continued to wear female garb. One of the things that he did to earn additional money was to give fencing exhibitions while dressed in women’s clothing.

The French Revolution began in 1789. The chevalier’s official income ended, a number of his relatives were guillotined, and his family estates were confiscated. He continued to earn a living by giving displays of his swordsmanship. However, in 1796 he suffered a serious wound while doing so and thereafter was no longer able to give such demonstrations. His circumstances became increasingly straitened.

In 1810 he died. His corpse was examined by a number of physicians. They were unanimous in concluding that physically he had been a man. His housekeeper, who had worked for him since his injury, went into shock. She had always taken her employer to be a chevalière.

Location: 71 (formerly 38) Brewer Street, W1F 9UW. D’Éon’s home from the 1760s through to the 1790s. (orange, yellow)

27-29 Soho Square, W1D 3QR. Monmouth House stood on the square’s southern side. (purple, orange)

Website: www.beaumontsociety.org.uk

© David Backhouse 2024