The Chevalier d’Éon on Screen

Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Éon de Beaumont was a French soldier and spy in the 1750s-60s, receiving the Order of Saint-Louis and earning the title “Chevalier.” Thus, we know this person as Chevalier d’Éon. Born to a poor but aristocratic family, d’Éon was well educated before becoming a spy for King Louis XV, and on secret missions to Russia, d’Éon dressed in women’s clothing to aid in these undercover activities. During the Seven Years’ War, d’Éon was a captain of dragoons and fought at the Battle of Villinghausen in 1761. Serving as an diplomatic minister in London in 1763, d’Éon became entangled in political machinations with the French ambassador, and d’Éon published some secret diplomatic correspondence in the process. This caused further scandal, and Chevalier d’Éon was not allowed to return to France until 1777, after Louis XV’s death.

However, King Louis XVI required that, upon returning from Britain, Chevalier d’Éon must wear women’s dress. The king even gave money for a new feminine wardrobe, which d’Éon accepted, although this came with banishment to the family home in Tonnerre, away from court. From this point, Chevalier d’Éon wore women’s clothes and presented as female, although d’Éon had presented as male previously. She returned to England in 1785, maintaining a small pension from France until the revolution. Chevalier d’Éon attempted to live off her notoriety with fencing tourneys and memoirs, but ultimately died in poverty in 1810.

Modern scholars think d’Eon was transgender, and Chevalier d’Éon seems to have suggested that she was assigned female at birth but only presented as masculine to gain education and position as a soldier and spy. An autopsy on d’Éon’s body showed mostly male characteristics but some female, leading other theories about d’Éon being intersex.

It’s always difficult to label or diagnose people in the past, and what I find more interesting is looking at how they lived. Chevalier d’Éon had a fascinating life, first being treated as a man, and then as a woman. I’d love to see a film or TV show that showed these experiences — how d’Éon acted as a spy in Russia and then a diplomat in Britain, how the negotiation went down with Louis XVI that lead to d’Éon dressing as a woman full-time, what was that change like on a personal and public level, and then, of course, d’Éon’s return to Britain (and note the painting of Chevalier d’Éon fencing Chevalier de Saint-Georges; the later finally got his own movie, so wouldn’t it be fantastic to see them together in a good film?). Any part of this story would make for a fascinating frock flick!

But it seems that the few movies or TV appearances of Chevalier d’Éon have gone for a more simplistic “cross-dressing girl” take. From what I can find, these early productions, in particular, aren’t all that historically accurate, nor very nuanced, and they don’t have much understanding of gender fluidity. Which is a pity! That’s why this post is in our Forgotten History category — Hollywood and all the other frock flick producers should wake up and realize what a great piece of legit history they’re ignoring here. Someone can do better than these early efforts, right?

 

 

 

Liane Haid as Marquis d’Éon in Marquis d’Éon aka Spion der Pompadour aka Spy of Madame Pompadour (1928)

 

 

Andrée Debar as Geneviève de Beaumont / Charles – Chevalier d’Éon in Le Secret du Chevalier d’Éon aka The Great Deception (1959)

 

 

Claire Nebout as Chevalier d’Éon in Beaumarchais l’Insolent (1996)

 

 

Le Chevalier d’Éon (2006)

 

 

 

Romain Brau as Le Chevalier d’Éon in Franklin (2024)

 

 

Have you seen any of these onscreen versions of Chevalier d’Éon?