August 1793

This is part of a local history note on performances at Richmond's Theatre Royale. See the start of this local history note.

Date: 23 August 1793

Fencing display by the "Chevaliere d’Eon"

The Chevalier d’Eon, Charles Genevieve Louis Auguste Andree Timothee d’Eon de Beaumont (1728 to 1810), was one of Louis XV’s secret agents who, whether by choice or by the demands of his calling, spent most of his life in female dress. As a reward for his work as an agent in Russia, he received a commission as Lieutenant of Dragoons, later promoted to the rank of Captain. In 1761 he commanded a company on the Rhine and fought bravely against both the Scots and Prussians. Soon afterwards he was recalled from military service and was sent to London to help the French Ambassador (the Duc de Nivernais) negotiate terms for ending the Seven Years War. He was given the honour of carrying George III’s ratification of the peace treaty to Versailles and was awarded the Order of St. Louis.

Nivernais was succeeded by d’Eon’s personal enemy, the Comte de Guerchy. A bitter private war, involving every kind of intrigue, ensued between the two. Louis XV became convinced that the chevalier was insane and, fearing that the secrets contained in documents in his possession might be divulged, began negotiations aimed at persuading him to relinquish the documents and return to France. These negotiations continued into the reign of Louis XVI. The French government enlisted the services of the dramatist Beaumarchais, a man with political ambitions, who obtained an agreement from d’Eon to hand over the secret papers in return for the payment of his debts and the confirmation of his royal pension. The chevalier also made a statement that he was, in fact, a woman and undertook to wear feminine attire for the rest of his life. Various reasons for the latter undertaking have been suggested. Perhaps the most original theory is that the chevalier, who during his stay in England had become intimate with Queen Charlotte and was suspected of being the true father of the Prince of Wales, preserved the honour of the queen by maintaining his femininity. Thereafter, any attempt on his part to resume male dress placed him in danger of punishment. In1779 he was imprisoned in the Chateau de Dijon for almost 3 weeks because he dared to wear his Dragoons uniform.

In November 1785, d’Eon left France, never to return. He spent the remaining years of his life in England where growing poverty compelled him to seek some means of earning a living. Remembering a famous fencing match at Carlton House in 1787 when, despite his age and triple skirts, he had defeated the world champion of fencing, the Chevalier de Saintes-Georges, he decided to tour the South of England and the Midlands with his former servant, Jacob de Launay, giving fencing demonstrations and inviting challenges. This career was cut short in 1796 when he was wounded during a fencing match in Southampton. Returning to London, he again suffered poverty and in 1804 was imprisoned for debt. His friend and companion, Mrs Marie Cole, raised the money to secure his release. The chevalier died on 21^st May that year. The autopsy performed on his body confirmed, beyond all doubt, that "La Chevalier" was a man. He was buried, in accordance with his request, in the graveyard of St. Pancras Church.