A Swedish Count’s Continued Efforts to Save the French Royal Couple
Axel von Fersen’s role in the royal family’s flight came to light soon enough, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He fled France, and got in touch with aristocratic French exiles. Led by Louis XVI’s younger brother, the Comte d’Artois, they sought to roll back the French Revolution and restore the Ancien Regime. Von Fersen assisted in their efforts to try and get other European powers to declare war on revolutionary France. In August, 1791, he traveled to Vienna, where he met Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, Marie Antoinette’s brother, then snuck back into Paris.
Disguised with a big wig and fake mustache, von Fersen claimed to be an envoy from Portugal’s queen. In December, 1791, that got him into the Tuileries Palace, where Louis and Marie Antoinette were now held under tight guard. He pitched them another escape plan. Since the roads were now closely watched, the king should flee through the woods, and then by sea. In the meantime, Marie Antoinette’s love would spirit her and the children away via another route. Louis rejected the plan, because he did not believe it would work. That night, von Fersen saw Marie Antoinette for the last time.
