History
SWEDEN
Axel von Fersen
by Tony and Elin
One of the more exciting stories of Swedish
history is the story about a man named Axel
von Fersen. He was born in September of
1755 and was the son of Axel von Fersen
Senior and Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie. At
the age of fourteen he was allowed to travel
abroad to study in Germany and France. He
returned to Sweden in 1774 at the age of 21
years old to do service in the Swedish army.
He made progress and was soon one of the
few to protect King Gustav the 3rd while in
the court, with the title of general. He was
also part of the French military and was
pronounced colonel. In his life he experienced
several wars, one of the biggest and most well
know was the American revolutionary war,
where von Fersen stood on the colonial side of
America who was against the British Empire.
For his great performance in the war he
received an award called the Cincinnatus
order, and also he was named colonel of one
of the Swedish regiments. Because of the time von Fersen spent in both France and
England he was very cunning in languages. Because of this he got to be a translator
between George Washington and a French lord named de Rochambeau.
Even though Axel von Fersen was famous for many of his accomplishments, there’s
actually one thing that makes him one of Sweden’s most intriguing people. During his
time in France, Axel was said to be Queen Marie Antoinette’s lover. Marie Antoinette is
known for many things, such as the famous quote: “Why can’t they eat bakery instead?”
when asked about how the French people can’t even afford bread. But, of course, Marie
Antoinette is mostly known for being the Queen of France during the French Revolution.
She was joined in an arranged marriage with King Louis the 14th of France when she
was fifteen years old. She was originally from Austria and the arranged marriage
between the royalties was to be a peace-making bond between France and Austria. But
the Queen’s feeling towards the French King was vague. Because of a physical problem
with the King’s genitals, t