André Sicre (died 1733 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a French military engineer who also was '' aide-de-camp'' to Frederick of Hesse and often has been named as the hired assassin of King

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

Career

After being shipwrecked on the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

in 1712, Sicre began to serve Charles XII in

Bendery Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the un ...

. He went with the Swedes to

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

and subsequently took part in the siege of that town. He was captured but managed to flee to Sweden in 1716. Sicre was hired by Charles’s brother-in-law and generalissimus Frederick of Hesse in a

Scanian The term Scanian (, or ) can refer to: * A person born or living in the province of Scania proper (Skåne) * The people and language of the historical provinces of Scania (Terrae Scaniae, Skånelandene (Danish), Skåneland (Swedish) * Scanian dia ...

cavalry regiment and eventually became Frederick’s top ''aide-de-camp''. During King Charles’s second invasion of Norway in 1718, Sicre was in his troops at

Fredriksten Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän was ...

. Late in the evening of 30 November, Sicre was positioned in the dugout near the king. He disappeared just before Charles was shot, but soon reappeared and placed his wig and hat over the dead king’s face, while himself donning Charles’s hat perforated by the gunshot. He then rode at once to Frederick’s command center at Torpum to announce the king’s death, and immediately rode on all the way to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

to inform

Ulrica Eleonora of Sweden Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden, reigning in her own right from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband ...

, Charles's sister and Frederick's wife, of what had transpired at Fredriksten. After the invasion of Norway had been called off due to Charles’s death, and Ulrica Eleonora had ascended to the Swedish throne, Frederick promoted Sicre again, but rumors of his involvement in the king’s demise made Frederick send him abroad. A Lieutenant Schultz came forward and claimed to know that Sicre had been offered a large sum of money to assassinate Charles. Sicre returned to Stockholm already in 1722 but then had contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

. In 1723, it was blamed on mental illness when he opened a window of his house and shouted to people passing below that it was he who had killed Charles. Frederick had now become King of Sweden himself and tried to put a stop to the rumors, having Sicre take back his confession, but to no avail. By 1728 Sicre’s health had begun to improve and he moved back to France. His financial situation was very bad, and he constantly wrote to King Frederick and Queen Ulrica Eleonora who sent him money.

Death

André Sicre died a poor man in Paris in 1733. Some Swedish historians have concluded that substantial evidence points to Sicre, acting on behalf of Frederick, as the assassin of Charles XII, however acknowledging that definite proof cannot to be ascertained.

References

* Bengt Liljegren in ''Krigarkungen'' (2018 edition) pp. 378, 380, 389-390 & 393-395 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sicre, André Military personnel of the Great Northern War 18th-century French military personnel French regicides 1733 deaths