The Chevalier d'Éon (Charles or Charlotte D'Eon de Beaumont, 1728-1810) was a French writer, soldier diplomat, and spy in pre-revolution France.
D'Éon was born into a noble family, and began their career doing administrivative work for the French government. Their espionage career began in 1756, where they joined Louis XV's "King's Secret" (Secret du Roi) ring of spies. Allegedly, one mission they undertook was to infiltrate the court of Elizabeth of Russia dressed as a woman, "Lia", before eventually working in the Russian embassy. They went on to fight in the Seven Years' War, during which they became a captain of dragoons. They were part of the diplomatic group that drafted the Treaty of Paris near the end of the war, and they "officially" received the title "Chevalier d'Éon" at the war's end for their service. D'Éon would continue to spy for the king in their capacity as a new diplomat in London, even despite a public conflict with and humiliation by the comte de Guerchy that resulted in their political exile.
The Secret du Roi was dissolved in 1774, after the king's death. D'Éon petitioned to return to France, now claiming to have been a woman all along, which the court of Louis XVI recognized. However, the finances suffered a hit as a result of The French Revolution, and the chevalier died penniless in 1810.
The Chevalier's true gender (or gender identity), and how it has intersected with their espionage and life as the noble, has been the subject of much intrigue, both contemporarily, in the intervening centuries, and in fiction. (The spy would even lean in to the mystique in their later years, such as by fencing in a dress.) A woman posing as a man, or vice versa, is a common portrayal of the chevalier. Some historians theorize they might have been an early example of a prominent Transgender person; others consider some sort of intersex condition based on their autopsy, which claimed "feminine characteristics" alongside male organs.
Appearances in fiction:
Anime
- Le Chevalier d'Eon, based on a light novel series of the same name, portrays the knight as a man who is occasionally possessed by his sister, Lia. D'Eon is an active member of the King's Secret and works to keep the peace within France.
- Briefly appears in Innocent as a friend of Marie-Joseph.
- The Rose of Versailles's heroine Oscar, a lady knight crossdressing as a man in the service of Marie-Antoinette, is loosely inspired by D'Eon.
Films
- They are the protagonist of the 1959 French-Italian movie Le secret du Chevalier DEon.
Literature
- They are the subject of an essay in Bram Stoker's Famous Impostors.
- In Franklin D'Eon (played by Romain Brau) briefly meets Benjamin Franklin in France. When Franklin asks about their gender identity, they respond that they are "a fact that does not yet have a name."
Video Games
- Assassin's Creed: Unity briefly features them as a Quest Giver NPC.
- They are classed as a Saber in the Nasuverse and debut in Fate/Grand Order . They're portrayed as a knight with Ambiguous Gender.
