Axel von Fersen
Axe von Fersen is probably one of the most romantic Swedish character.
He was born in 1755 in a military family of the Swedish nobility of Estonian ancestry. He grew-up in the castle of Mälsåker overlooking the Mälaren lake. He could speak French, Latin, English, German and Italian, besides Swedish.
At 15, he undertook a four year grand tour of Europe to complete his military training, which brought him to Brunswick, Turin, Geneva, Strasbourg and Lüneburg.
In Fernay, around Geneva, he met with Voltaire, then went to Italy where he met the king of Italy, Charles Emmanuel III.
At 19, he arrived in Versailles where he soon met with Marie-Antoinette, then the Dauphine of the throne of France. He continued his tour to England, meeting King Georges 9III and Queen Charlotte.
At 20, he was back to Sweden, serving for three years the King Gustavus III.
In 1778, he returned to France, aged 23 and became quite intimate with the Queen Marie-Antoinette.
At 25, he embarked to the Americas as aide-de-camp to General Rochambeau. During the following three years, without participating much in fighting, he had a chance to meet with George Washington, by then an American general. He was back to France in 1783.
By then, he grew rapidly in the ranks of the Swedish army and King Gustavus convinced Louis XVI to appoint him as the proprietar Colonel of the Royal Suédois French Army infantry regiment.
This brought him back in Versailles by 1784.
From 1789, Axel von Fersen witnessed all events related to the French revolution. His role culminated in 1791, when he organised the failed escape of the Royal family who was recognised in Varennes, close to the Northern French border. This event is refered to as the Flight to Varennes.
Axel von Fersen was identified as one of the officers that organised the failed escape and he had to quit France as a warrant was put for his arrest. He spent all his energy by then to try to rally European powers against the French revolution in order to save the monarchy in France. With no success.
In December 1791, he tried to organise another escape attempt that was turned down by Louis XVI. For this, he travelled under cover to Paris and even managed to meet with the King and the Queen. By that time, he was able to communicate through encrypted letters with Marie-Antoinette.
In January 1793, King Louis XVI was guillotined and Marie-Antoinette in October of the same year.
In 1793, Axel von Fersen returned to Sweden and was deprived of his diplomatic appointment under suspicion of conspiring against the Duke of Södermanland, the regent of Sweden following the assassination of Gustav III in March 1792 in the opera house of Stockholm. The accession of Gustav IV as the king of Sweden restored Axel von Fersen in favour at court.
In 1797, he attended the second Congress of Rastatt where he met with Napoleon Bonaparte. The following years were troubled in Sweden, with riots and famine. He was appointed as Chancellor of Uppsala, a city considered as a strong hold for revolutionary ideas. By 1801, Axel von Fersen was the highest official in the court of Sweden.
King Gustav IV was overthrown in 1809 and went in exile. Axel von Fersen supported the son of Gustav IV against the more popular Prince Charles August. In 1810, the Prince Charles August fell from his horse and died. Axel von Fersen was suspected to have poisoned the Prince. During the burial ceremony, Axel von Fersen was killed by an angry mob despite weak attempts by the military escort to protect him.
Recent studies indicate that Axel von Fersen and Marie-Antoinette relation was passionate. Some even suggest that Axel von Fersen could have been the biological father of the two younger children of Marie-Antoinette...