Georg Johan De Besche (1754–1814) was a Swedish courtier, colonel, governor and a favorite of

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

. Georg Johan De Besche was the son of Johan Jacob De Besche and Anna Catharina Hilchen. He never married. He became page to Gustav III in 1770, chamber page in 1774, courtier in 1783 and governor of Stockholm Royal Palace in 1793–94. He had a career in the Västgöta cavalry regiment, where he became a cadet in 1765, lieutenant in 1776, major in 1787 and colonel in 1792. Georg Johan De Besche belonged to the group of male favorites of Gustav III consisting of

Adolf Fredrik Munck Adolf Fredrik, Count Munck (Mikkeli, Finland, 28 April 1749 – Massa, Italy, 18 July 1831), was a Swedish and Finnish noble during the Gustavian era. His family name is sometimes inaccurately given as "Munck af Fulkila" because his father usurp ...

, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt,

Fabian Wrede Fabian may refer to: People * Fabian (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname * Pope Fabian (died 250), Catholic saint * Fabian Forte (born 1943), 1950s American teen idol, singer and actor, known by the mononym Fabian * ...

and the brothers Evert Vilhelm Taube and Karl Edvard Taube who was referred to as pet-youths. Like several others of the King's male favorites, he himself was known for his love affairs with women; he was known for his taste for "Vulgar girls", and according to Princess Charlotte, he had a bad reputation and was considered to be debauched. According to Elis Schröderheim, after the parliament of 1789, when Gustav III had punished the noble opposition and as a consequence was punished by being socially ostracized from high society by a demonstration of female nobles led by

Jeanna von Lantingshausen Johanna "Jeanna" von Lantingshausen, née von Stockenström, (1753–1809), was a Swedish noble and courtier. She is foremost known as the instigator of the political demonstration by the noblewomen toward Gustav III in opposition of his parliament ...

, he became completely socially dependent upon this group of favorites, with whom he isolated himself at the

Gustav III's Pavilion Gustav III's Pavilion ( sv, Gustav III:s paviljong) is a royal pavilion at the Haga Park, 2 km north of Stockholm. As a highlight in Swedish art history, the Pavilion is a fine example of the European neoclassicism of the late 18th century ...

Haga Palace Haga Palace ( sv, Haga slott), formerly known as the Queen's Pavilion ( sv, Drottningens paviljong), is located in the Haga Park, Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm, Sweden. The palace, built between 18021805, was modelled after balle ...

, where he engaged in ill-reputed orgies with prostitutes.Gerd Ribbing (1959). Ensam drottning. Sofia Magdalena 1783-1813. Stockholm: Alb. Bonniers Boktryckeri. ISBN page 113-114 After the death of Gustav III, the position of the De Besche deteriorated, and in 1795 he finally lost all his remaining offices with the motivation that he was a Gustavian. In 1806, he was given the position of chamberlain at the court of Queen Dowager Sophia Magdalena who, while she disliked all the male favorites of Gustav III while he were alive, with the exception of Munck, treated them with consideration after he was dead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Besche, Georg Johan 1754 births 1814 deaths 18th-century Swedish military personnel Royal favourites Swedish courtiers Court of Gustav III