Chevalière d'Éon
Chevalière d'Éon | |
|---|---|
Chevalier d'Éon wearing the chivalric Order of Saint Louis, a military honour of the Kingdom of France. Painting by Thomas Stewart (1792), at the National Portrait Gallery, London | |
| Born | 5 October 1728 Tonnerre, Yonne, France |
| Died | 21 May 1810 (aged 81) London, United Kingdom |
| Resting place | St Pancras Old Church |
Charlotte d'Éon de Beaumont or Charles d'Éon de Beaumont (5 October 1728 – 21 May 1810), usually known as the Chevalière d'Éon or the Chevalier d'Éon, was a French diplomat, spy, and soldier. D'Éon fought in the Seven Years' War, and spied for France while in Russia and England. D'Éon had androgynous physical characteristics and natural abilities as a mimic and a spy. D'Éon appeared publicly as a man and pursued masculine occupations for 49 years, although during that time, d'Éon successfully infiltrated the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia by presenting as a woman. Starting in 1777, d'Éon lived as a woman and was officially recognised as a woman by King Louis XVI.