COUNT AXEL VON FERSEN AND MARIE ANTOINETTE, QUEEN OF FRANCE

Historians have been unable to state, unequivocally, the nature of the relationship between the Axel Fersen and Marie Antoinette and I'm sure not going to take on the task. It's crystal clear, though, that they were at least devoted friends for the whole of her adult life. They met at a masquerade ball when they were both eighteen years old. He didn't know until a small crowd began to gather that the charming masked woman with whom he was chatting was the dauphine. (This image is a combination of two portraits. They didn't pose for portrait together.)