Hans Excellens Högvälborne Herr Greve Axel von Fersen |
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His Excellency the Right Honourable Lord Count Axel von Fersen, dressed in the robes of a Swedish Privy Councilor, with the Knight collar of the Order of the Seraphim and the Commander Grand Cross collar of the Order of the Sword around his neck.
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Marshal of the Realm | |
In office 1801–1810 |
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Lord of the Realm | |
In office 1799–1810 |
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Minister to the King of France | |
In office 1790–1793 |
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Minister to the Emperor of Austria | |
In office 1791–1791 |
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Minister to the Second Congress of Rastatt | |
In office 1797–1798 |
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Chancellor of Uppsala University | |
In office 1799–1810 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Hans Axel von Fersen 4 September 1755 , Sweden |
Died | 20 June 1810 Stockholm, Sweden |
(aged 54)
Resting place | Ljungs kyrka, Östergötland |
Parents | Count Axel von Fersen the Elder Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie |
Coat of Arms | |
Military service | |
Service/branch |
Swedish Army French Army |
Years of service | 1770–1810 1770–1790 |
Rank | Mestre de camp propriétaire of Régiment Royal-Suédois (France) General of Horse (Sweden) |
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Knight of the Order of the Sword, 1781 Member of the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783 Member of the Institution of Military Merit, 1786 Knight Commander of the Order of the Sword, 1791 Knight Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword, 1798 Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim, 1800. |
Hans Axel von Fersen ([hɑːns ˈaksɛl fɔn ˈfæʂɛn], known as Axel de Fersen in France; 4 September 1755 – 20 June 1810) was a Swedish count, Marshal of the Realm of Sweden, a General of Horse in the Royal Swedish Army, one of the Lords of the Realm, aide-de-camp to Rochambeau in the American Revolutionary War, diplomat and statesman, and a friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette of France. He died at the hands of a Stockholm lynch mob.
von Fersen was born in 1755 to Field Marshal Axel von Fersen the Elder and countess Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie. He was nephew of Eva Ekeblad and grandson of General Hans Reinhold Fersen. Axel was born the second of four children; he had two sisters, Hedvig Eleonora and Eva Sophie, and one brother, Fabian Reinhold. Two female cousins, Ulrika von Fersen and Christina Augusta von Fersen, were Swedish ladies-in-waiting and leading socialites of the Gustavian age.
Fersen's ancestors came from Estonia to Sweden at the time of the Thirty Years' War, which took place from 1618–1648. The family made their name during the reigns of Christina (queen regnant), Charles X, and Charles XI. In 1735, the von Fersen family purchased Steninge Palace, which overlooks Mälaren, a lake outside of , Sweden.