Saturday, February 17, 2018

Le Chevalier d'Eon de Beaumont

The James Bond of his time, d'Éon de Beaumont, was a French knight, a spy in the elite secret espionage force of King Louis XV and a swashbuckling swordsman. A member of La Lodge de l'Immortalite 376, London, he was also a member of the Royal Court, a captain of dragoons wounded in the Seven Years War, and a recipient of the coveted Order of Saint-Louis for service to France; and King Louis XVI, assuming the throne upon the death of his grandfather, ordered de Beaumont to wear a dress for the rest of his life!

You heard that right. The bizarre story of le Chevalier d'Éon de Beaumont puzzled his contemporaries and has caused historians since to speculate about the motives behind his quirky personality. It all started when Louis XV decided to stick his nose into Russian affairs. He needed a spy...

Fair-featured, one reason de Beaumont enjoyed stunning success as a spy was his ability to disguise himself as a woman and move about unnoticed. He was so convincing in this role that he conspired with Russia's Empress Elizabeth to pass himself off as her maid of honor.

After de Beaumont's mission in Russia, King Louis XV developed secret plans to invade England. He shared those plans with de Beaumont and sent him there to spy on the English and gather information that would facilitate the impending conflict. De Beaumont was so successful Louis XV appointed him Minister Plenipotentiary — the most powerful French citizen in England. De Beaumont enjoyed his elevated status in England until the King abandoned his plan to invade England and appointed the Count of Guerchy as that country's French ambassador. In the same action, the King demoted de Beaumont, betraying his years of loyalty. De Beaumont, in return, used secret French documents to discredit Guerchy and have him convicted of corruption.

De Beaumont shrewdly held back the documents which exposed the plans King Louis XV had devised to invade England. Not only did this in all likelihood save his life, but it also gave him an enormous amount of leverage in his future negotiations with the French government; and negotiate he did, obtaining a generous pension and keeping his job as a spy, although the King refused to let him return to France.

Continuing to live in England, de Beaumont began to dress openly as a woman and rumors circulated that he actually was a female. He refused to cooperate with requests to prove his sex.

Homesick, de Beaumont negotiated his return to France by agreeing to relinquish the damning documents detailing France's previous intention to invade England. He also demanded the French Government officially recognize him as a woman. King Louis XVI agreed but, in return, ordered him to dress as a female for the remainder of his life. De Beaumont consented and astonishingly, King Louis XVI paid for his wardrobe. His Masonic records are lost but from that point it is certain de Beaumont never entered a Masonic Lodge again.

Speculation raged over his true gender. De Beaumont continued to insist he was a female, but never offered proof. He lived another 33 years after returning to France — all the while claiming to be a woman. He lost his pension and died penniless in London in 1810. Finally, an autopsy ended speculation about his gender when it determined conclusively that le Chevalier d'Éon de Beaumont was, anatomically at least, a male.



A Charles Jean Robineau painting of a match between d'Eon de Beaumont and Saint George circa 1789.

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