KNIGHT OF EON, THE AMBIGUOUS SPY

Exceptional destinies

An episode from the series SECRETS OF HISTORY - PORTRAITS

Synopsis

A diplomat, spy, officer of the king with a brilliant career, Charles d'Eon de Beaumont, known as the Knight of Eon, has above all been famous for his sexual ambiguity, which fuelled conversations at the court. He spent nearly 50 years as a man and 33 as a woman.

Louis XV, fascinated by his wit, made him his spy and sent him to Russia to approach the Tzar’s wife in order to promote an alliance with France. He then went to London where he contributed to the drafting of the Treaty of Paris.

Perfectly at ease in society, Eon was also a formidable fencer who left no one indifferent during his lifetime.