Alexandre Joseph Gabriel, Marquis de Boisgelin (14 April 1770 – 21 June 1821) was a

French nobleman The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napolé ...

who served as personal bodyguard to the last Queen of France before emigrating. He later served with the French Émigrés till 1814 when he returned to France. Following the Second Restoration, he became a politician and served two separate departments before retiring after the July Revolution and passing one year later.

Early life

Son of Charles Eugène, Comte de Boisgelin, Vicomte de

Pléhédel Pléhédel (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Pléhédel are called ''pléhédelais'' in French. Notable people * Boisgelin Family ** Charles Eugène, Comte ...

and younger brother of Bruno Gabriel de Boisgel, Alexandre de Boisgelin was a French officer who served in the

Royal French Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...

. He was born in

, part of the province of Brittany.Robert & Cougny In 1789, just prior to the French Revolution, Alexandre was a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and personal bodyguard of the Queen,

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

. In 1792, following the

Storming of the Tuileries The Insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the monar ...

, he emigrated east to fight with the Army of the Princes, and then served in the British Army.

Restoration

Following the First Bourbon Restoration in 1814, he was invited back to France where he was appointed Commander of the 10th Legion, Paris National Guard. After the return of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

from Elba in early 1815, he emigrated once again, refusing to serve under Napoleon. He flees with

King Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

and his court to Ghent in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 22 August 1815, he was elected as a member of the Chamber of Peers representing the

Seine department Seine was the former department of France encompassing Paris and its immediate suburbs. It is the only enclaved department of France at that time. Its prefecture was Paris and its INSEE number was 75. The Seine department was disbanded in 1968 ...

, encompassing Paris and some of its

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s. He loses his seat in the 1816 elections, but is re-elected to the Chamber of Peers on 20 September 1817, representing the Ille-et-Vilaine department. From this point on he becomes a dedicated Ultra-royalist, sitting with the far right of the party. On 20 April 1818, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant within the

Garde du Corps du Roi The Gardes du Corps du Roi (King's bodyguard) was the senior formation of the King of France's household cavalry within the '' maison militaire du roi de France''. History Foundation The oldest unit in the ''Garde du Corps'' was the Company of Sc ...

''(King's Life Guards)'', and was raised to the rank of ''

Maréchal de Camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...

'' _{(equivalent to that of Brigadier general in the Anglophone world

Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
)} later that day. Following the death of his eldest brother Bruno, Alexandre succeeds to the titles which had been held by the former and was admitted to succeed him in the Chamber of Peers. On 19 May 1827 under the Royal Ordnance of 1 August 1817, his peerage was transferred to the collateral line. However, following the July Revolution of 1830 he retired from political life. Just one year later, on 21 June 1831, he died at the age of 61 with his titles passing to his one son, Édouard Raymond Marie, 3ème Marquis de Boisgelin.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boisgelin, Alexandre-Joseph de 1770 births 1831 deaths French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Royalist military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars People from Côtes-d'Armor French counter-revolutionaries French marquesses