Count Hans Axel von Fersen (September 4, 1755 - June 20, 1810) was a Swedish statesman. He was carefully educated at home, at the Carolinum at Brunswick and at Turin. In 1779 he entered the French military service Royal-Bavière, accompanied General Rochambeau to America as his adjutant, served as interpreter between him and General Washington, distinguished himself during the war with England, notably at the siege of Yorktown, 1781, and in 1785 was promoted to be colonel proprietaire of the regiment Royal-Suédois. He is famous as a lover and had affairs with women as Marie-Angelique Diderot (daughter of Denis Diderot) and Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta, married to the future King Charles XIII of Sweden. September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Map of Germany showing Braunschweig Braunschweig [ˈbraunʃvaik] (English & French: Brunswick) is a city of 245,500 people (as of December 31, 2004), located in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Turin (Italian: ; Piedmontese: Türín) is a major industrial city in north-western Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the west bank of the Po River. ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (July 1, 1725 - May 10, 1807), French soldier, was born at Vend me (Loir-et-Cher). ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President • Vice President Federal republic George W... George Washington (February 22, 1732–December 14, 1799) was the successful Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783, and later became the first President of the United States, an office to which he was twice elected unanimously (unanimous among the Electoral... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... Combatants Britain Colonial America France Commanders Charles Cornwallis George Washington Comte de Rochambeau Strength 7,500 8,845 Americans 7,800 French Casualties 156 killed 326 wounded 7,018 captured Americans: 20 killed, 56 wounded French: 52 killed, 134 wounded The Battle of Yorktown (1781) was a victory by a... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Portrait of Diderot by Louis-Michel van Loo, 1767 Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 – July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer. ... Charles XIII, Karl XIII, or Carl II, (1748-1818), king of Norway, the second son of king Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and Louisa Ulrica of Prussia, sister of Frederick the Great, was born at Stockholm on October 7, 1748. ...

Fersen's relationship with Marie Antoinette

The young nobleman was, from the first, a prime favourite at the French court, owing partly to the recollection of his father's devotion to France, but principally because of his own amiable and brilliant qualities. Queen Marie Antoinette, who had first met Fersen when they both were age 16, was especially attracted by the grace and wit of "le beau" Fersen, who had inherited his full share of the striking handsomeness which was hereditary in the family. It is possible that Fersen would have spent most of his life at Versailles, but for a hint from his own sovereign, then at Pisa, that he desired him to join his suite. Fersen accompanied Gustav III of Sweden in his Italian tour and returned home with him in 1784. Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France and Archduchess of Austria (born November 1755 – executed 16 October 1793) Daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria, wife of Louis XVI and mother of Louis XVII. She was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution. ... Versailles in 1789. ... Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... Gustav III (13 January 1746 (O.S.) (24 January 1746 (N.S.))–March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1785 Marie Antoinette would give birth to Louis-Charles, the first titular Duke of Normandy in centuries. Afterwards Louis XVI wrote in his journal that it had happened just as when "his own son" had been born. Some have claimed that Louis-Charles, later dauphin of France, was the biological child of Marie Antoinette and Fersen. However, this is extremely unlikely. Some have claimed that Louis XVI actually meant when "his first son" was born. Secondly, little Louis XVII was noted to resemble two members of the Bourbon family: his paternal uncle Charles X (Louis XVI's youngest brother) and his late grandmother, Princess Maria-Josefa (Louis XVI's mother). The claim that Fersen was the biological father of Louis XVII has been discounted by the child's recent biographer, Deborah Cadbury, and by Marie-Antoinette's biographer Antonia Fraser. 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Louis XVII of France (March 27, 1785 - June 8, 1795) also known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy (1785-1789), Louis-Charles, Dauphin of Viennois (1789-1791), and Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France (1791-1793), was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, never actually... The Duke of Normandy is a title held (or claimed) by various Norman, English, French and British rulers from the 10th century. ... Louis XVI (August 23, 1754, Versailles – January 21, 1793, Paris) was King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then King of the French from 1791 to 1793. ... For other uses, see Dauphin (disambiguation). ... Charles X, King of France and of Navarre (October 9, 1757 – November 6, 1836) was born at the Palace of Versailles. ... Louis XVII of France (March 27, 1785 - June 8, 1795) also known as Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy (1785-1789), Louis-Charles, Dauphin of Viennois (1789-1791), and Louis-Charles, Prince Royal of France (1791-1793), was the son of King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, never actually... Lady Antonia Fraser, née Pakenham, (born August 27, 1932) is a British author of history and novels, best known for writing biographies. ...

When the war with Russia broke out, in 1788, Fersen accompanied his regiment to Finland, but in the autumn of the same year was sent to France, where the political horizon was already darkening. It was necessary for Gustav III to have an agent thoroughly in the confidence of the French royal family, and, at the same time, sufficiently able and audacious to help them in their desperate straits, especially as he had lost all confidence in his accredited minister, the baron de Stael. With his usual acumen, he fixed upon Fersen, who was at his post early in 1790. Before the end of the year he was forced to admit that the cause of the French monarchy was hopeless so long as the king and queen of France were nothing but captives in their own capital, at the mercy of an irresponsible mob. 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

He had the leading role in the flight to Varennes. He found most of the requisite funds at the last moment. He ordered the construction of the famous carriage for six, in the name of the baroness von Korff, and kept it in his hotel grounds, rue Matignon, that all Paris might get accustomed to the sight of it. He was the coachman of the fiacre which drove the royal family from the Carrousel to the Porte Saint-Martin. He accompanied them to Bondy, the first stage of their journey. The Flight to Varennes (June 20-21, 1791) was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which the French royal family, faced with a decrease in royal authority, attempted unsuccessfully to escape abroad. ...

Politics

In August 1791, Fersen was sent to Vienna to induce the emperor Leopold to accede to a new coalition against revolutionary France, but he soon came to the conclusion that the Austrian court meant to do nothing at all. At his own request, therefore, he was transferred to Brussels, where he could be of more service to the queen of France. In February 1792, at his own mortal peril, he once more succeeded in reaching Paris with counterfeit credentials as minister plenipotentiary to Portugal. On the 13th he arrived, and the same evening contrived to steal an interview with the queen unobserved. On the following day he was with the royal family from six o'clock in the evening till six o'clock the next morning, and convinced himself that a second flight was physically impossible. On the afternoon of the 21st he succeeded in paying a third visit to the Tuileries, stayed there till midnight and succeeded, with great difficulty, in reaching Brussels on the 27th. This perilous expedition, a monumental instance of courage and loyalty, had no substantial result. In 1797 Fersen was sent to the congress of Rastatt as the Swedish delegate, but in consequence of a protest from the French government, was not permitted to take part in it. 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Croatian and Serbian: Beč Romanian: Viena, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya;) Vienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II Leopold II (born Peter Leopold Joseph) (Vienna, May 5, 1747 – Vienna, March 1, 1792) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1790 to 1792 and Grand-duke of Tuscany. ... Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (French: Bruxelles, pronounced in French although often mistakenly pronounced by citizens of France; Dutch: Brussel; German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the French Community of Belgium, the... Up to 1871 the Tuileries Palace was a palace in Paris, France, on the right bank of the River Seine. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

During the regency of the Duke Charles of Sudermannia (1792-1796) Fersen, like all the other Gustavians, was in disgrace; but, on Gustav IV attaining his majority in 1796, he was welcomed back to court with open arms, and reinstated in all his offices and dignities. In 1801 he was appointed Riksmarskalk, or Earl Marshal. On the outbreak of the war with Napoleon, Fersen accompanied Gustav IV to Germany to assist him in gaining fresh allies. He prevented Gustav from invading Prussia in revenge for the refusal of the king of Prussia to declare war against France, and during the rest of the reign was in semi disgrace, though generally a member of the government when the king was abroad. Charles XIII, Karl XIII, or Carl II, (1748-1818), king of Sweden and Norway, the second son of king Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and Louisa Ulrica of Prussia, sister of Frederick the Great, was born at Stockholm on October 7, 1748. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... Gustav IV Adolf (1778-1837), king of Sweden, of the house Holstein-Gottorp, was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, and born at Stockholm on November 1, 1778. ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad...

Death of Prince Carl August

Fersen stood quite aloof from the revolution of 1809. His sympathies were entirely with Prince Gustavus, son of the unfortunate Gustav IV, and he was generally credited with the desire to see him king. When the newly elected successor to the throne, the highly popular prince Carl August of Augustenburg, died suddenly in Scania in May 1810, the report spread that he had been poisoned, and that Fersen and his sister, the countess Piper, were accessories. The source of this equally absurd and infamous libel has never been discovered. But it was eagerly taken up by the anti-Gustavian press, and popular suspicion was especially aroused by a fable called 'The Foxes' directed against the Fersens, which appeared in Nya Posten. When, then, on June 20, 1810, the prince's body was conveyed to Stockholm, and Fersen, in his official capacity as Riksmarskalk, received it at the barrier and led the funeral cortege into the city, his fine carriage and his splendid robes seemed to the people an open derision of the general grief. The crowd began to murmur and presently to fling stones and cry "murderer!" He sought refuge in a house in the Riddarhus Square, but the mob rushed after him, brutally maltreated him and tore his robes to pieces. To quiet the people and save the unhappy victim, two officers volunteered to conduct him to the senate house and there place him in arrest. But he had no sooner mounted the steps leading to the entrance than the crowd, which had followed him all the way beating him with sticks and umbrellas, made a rush at him, knocked him down, and kicked and trampled him to death. This horrible outrage, which lasted more than an hour, happened, too, in the presence of numerous troops, drawn up in the Riddarhus Square, who made not the slightest effort to rescue the Riksmarskalk from his tormentors. In the circumstances, one must needs adopt the opinion of Fersen's contemporary, Baron Gustaf Armfelt, "One is almost tempted to say that the government wanted to give the people a victim to play with, just as when one throws something to an irritated wild beast to distract its attention. The more I consider it all, the more I am certain that the mob had the least to do with it. . . . But in God's name what were the troops about? How could such a thing happen in broad daylight during a procession, when troops and a military escort were actually present?" The responsibility certainly rests with the government of Charles XIII of Sweden, which apparently intended to intimidate the Gustavians by the removal of one of their principal leaders. Armfelt escaped in time, so Fersen fell the victim. 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... â–¶ (help· info) (also known as Scania) is the southernmost historical province (landskap) of Sweden. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... External link Riddarhuset - Official site Categories: Stub | Swedish history | Stockholm buildings ... This is an incomplete list of persons that were assassinated for political and other reasons, and who have individual entries. ... Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (March 31, 1757 – August 19, 1814) was a Swedish courtier and diplomat. ... Charles XIII, Karl XIII, or Carl II, (1748-1818), king of Sweden and Norway, the second son of king Adolf Frederick of Sweden, and Louisa Ulrica of Prussia, sister of Frederick the Great, was born at Stockholm on October 7, 1748. ...

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• Marie Antoinette
• Louis-Charles, Duke of Normandy
• Axel von Fersen, senior