Charles-François, marquis de Bonnay (22 June 1750 – 25 March 1825) was a French military, diplomatic, and political figure of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Biography

Born in Cossaye,

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Second estate of the bailiwick of the

Nivernais Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.Donziois as a substitute deputy to the Estates General; he was admitted to sit 21 July in replacement of the comte de Damas d'Anlezy, who resigned. Three times elected president of the National Constituent Assembly, (12–27 April 1790; 5–20 July 1790; elected again 20 December but refused to serve) he supported the ministers of the Crown, especially

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Montmorin, criticised for having allowed the passage of the Austrian troops on French territory; he also defended the bodyguards accused by deputy Chabroud for provoking the days of 5 and 6 October 1789. On the

Flight to Varennes The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...

(20–21 June 1791), Bonnay was accused of having inside knowledge of the event prior to the royal family's departure. He defended himself deftly: "If the king had consulted me," he said, "I should not have advised this trip; but if I had received an order to accompany him, I would have rushed to obey, and to die by his sides." When the executive power of the Crown was subsequently suspended, Bonnay stated that he would no longer be involved in the deliberations of the Assembly. He emigrated with the

comte de Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

, acting as his close advisor during his stay in Warsaw, and followed him to England living at

Gosfield Hall Gosfield Hall is a country house in Gosfield, near Braintree in Essex, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The house was built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth, a member of Cardinal Wolsey’s household, and hosted royal visits by Queen Eliz ...

in Essex and subsequently at Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire.

Restoration

In June 1814, following the First Restoration, the king appointed him Minister Plenipotentiary in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

; he remained in this post during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

. Named Peer of France by Louis XVIII on 17 August 1815, he voted for the death in the trial of the Marshal Ney, was promoted to lieutenant-general, the following 31 October, and appointed, 2 March 1816, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He was appointed Minister of State and member of the king's Privy Council in 1820 and governor of the royal chateau of Fontainebleau in 1821. He died in Paris in 1825.

References

* French Wikipedia article {{DEFAULTSORT:Francois, Charles, Marquis de Bonnay 18th-century French people 1750 births 1825 deaths Peers of France State ministers of France