The true story of Milady Winter. Demonic spy

“...But what about the wife?! Have mercy, God!
The horse collapsed in the heat of the moment!
And the count, to ease her sigh,
Tears the fabric from her shoulder,
And the dress crawls off your shoulders by itself,
And there’s a brand on my shoulder!

The executioner was a master, and so -
The lily is blooming there!..”

Today it is extremely fashionable to wear tattoos on the body as a sign of self-expression, rebellion against the system, to hide skin imperfections. Branding or tattooing a person's body has been known since ancient world when masters branded their slaves. And in the Middle Ages, this was how they “marked” convicts working on galleys, who could be recognized in the “crowd” if they escaped. Deserters were branded during the First World War, during the years Civil War- white communists, during the Second World War - the Gestapo stamped an individual number on the body of concentration camp prisoners.

Lily - emblem of the royal court

Those who read famous novel Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers" will remember that there was a shameful mark on Milady's body, namely the brand of a lily on her shoulder. In France, this flower had a special meaning. The fact is that the Frankish king Clovis I Merovingian (reigned 481 - 511) began to profess Christianity, and according to legend, an angel gave him a golden lily. This flower “...is especially revered as a sign of good hope and blameless life,...and those who use lilies in their coats of arms, have to be kind, fair and honest..."

In the Middle Ages, the lily became the emblem of France and royalty. King Louis VII (reign 1137 - 1180) wore a shield with the image of this flower. Fleur de Lys was the name of the yellow lily, which was depicted on the coat of arms of France under the Capetians and Bourbons. When the legendary Joan of Arc was going to save her native Orleans from enemies, and met with the still uncrowned Charles VII, she was given a standard with golden lilies, as a symbol of the king’s power. The noble plant was present on the coats of arms of such cities as Wiesbaden, Daugavpils, Detroit, New Orleans, Florence, Turku.

Anne de Bayle, Lady Claric, Charlotte Buckson, Baroness Sheffield, Lady Winter - one person

The brand in the form of a lily, as a symbol of indelible shame, was branded with state criminals: thieves, Huguenots, women who took upon themselves the sin of getting rid of an unborn child. Anna de Bayle is a beautiful villainess with whom the Count de La Fère fell so passionately in love and married the young dowry, without even knowing her dark past. And before meeting him, she was a nun at the Templemar Monastery and persuaded the priest - her lover - to run away to another city. He agreed and to escape, he stole church relics in order to sell them and get money.

On the way they were detained, and the priest was shackled, branded as a thief, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. But he managed to escape with the help of his brother, the executioner in Lille. For some time, the fugitives lived in Berry (by the way, there are also three yellow lilies on the Berry flag), where they pretended to be brother and sister, until the smart girl met a profitable match for herself - the Count de La Fère. A 25-year-old man fell in love with a young beauty with all the ardor of a young soul.

“The bride of Count de La Fère is only sixteen years old - there are no such refined manners in all of Provence: both a wondrous look and a gentle disposition. And out of love, like a drunken Count.” The imaginary brother of the bride personally performed the ritual of the “sister’s” marriage, and then returned to Lille, repented of his crime and... hanged himself. It was then that his brother, the Lille executioner, was released from prison, accused of aiding the fugitives. For the rest of his life, he harbored a grudge against the villainess, because of whom his brother chose death over life, and he himself was forced to become a prisoner in prison.

Quite by accident, the essence of the young countess was revealed when one day, while hunting, she fell from her horse and fainted, and her husband, in order to make her breathing easier, cut her tight dress and saw the mark of a lily on her shoulder. The count realized that he was facing a criminal, and since he had the right to administer justice on “his” land, he tied the countess’s hands behind her back and hung her on a tree, without experiencing any remorse. Subsequently, he told D'Artagnan that "... if she had been left alive, she, without a doubt, would have continued her disastrous work..."

However, the psychological blow was too strong for the count. He renounced his title and property, went to Paris and entered the king's service as a royal musketeer under the name "Athos". Meanwhile, miraculously surviving, Countess de La Fère actually continued her path as a villain, becoming a spy for Richelieu. The ethical or moral side of life interested her the least in life - she wanted power and money. The woman whom Cardinal Richelieu called “Milady” was guilty of poisoning her second husband, Lord Winter, killed the young Constance Bonacieux, D’Artagnan’s beloved, and, on Richelieu’s orders, participated in dark history with diamond pendants of Queen Anne of Austria, and sent more than one person to the next world.

Intrigue and spy Richelieu

Her life in Dumas's novel ended sadly but fairly. Athos learned about a woman with a mark on her shoulder, which his friend D'Artagnan told him about. He guessed that he ex-wife remained alive, and continues to sow evil around her. He decided to destroy it, but now he had to act for sure. Athos hired a Lille executioner, who carried out his act of retaliation by cutting off the unfortunate woman's head and drowning her body in the river.

As the character “milady,” Alexandre Dumas took a real historical figure - the intriguer Lucy Hay. She was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Charles I and an actual spy for Cardinal Richelieu. Lucy Hay, aka Countess of Carlisle, entered into an intimate relationship with the Duke of Buckingham. And when their connection was interrupted by the Duke’s decision, the wounded beautiful Countess was furious. She recruited herself to Richelieu in order to take revenge on Buckingham in a purely feminine way.

Symbol of shame

So, representatives of the Bourbon dynasty burned the lily mark on the body. The flower depicted on the robe of kings served as a symbol of “shame” on the body of criminals. Milady received a lily on her shoulder for a reason - her crime was too serious.

Branding was known in the days of the Old Testament, when in the book of Genesis it was written that “... the owner shall burn an owl on his ears, and shall serve him always.” Slaves were “marked” with a hot iron Ancient Rome a special mark (stigma). If the slave managed to escape, but was caught, then he was given another mark - “runaway”.

Branded in Ancient China, in Japan, medieval England, France. In Russia, since the 17th century, people began to be branded with a hot iron, and a thief or criminal was given a mark on his face so that everyone could understand for what crime he received such a “decoration.” It was only in 1863 that tattoo punishment was abolished in Russia. Historians believe that it was from this humiliating process that the expressions “written on the forehead,” “branded with shame” came from.

Especially for Liliya-Travel.RU - Anna Lazareva

This story seems fictional - there is so much intrigue and deceit in it. And the enumeration of the people who participated in it will honor any adventure novel - Queen Marie Antoinette, Count Cagliostro and the famous swindler, who became the prototype of Milady from The Three Musketeers - the famous adventuress Jeanne de Lamotte...

Jeanne de Lamotte, née Saint-Rémy de Valois, was born in 1756. Her origin was both noble and at the same time very piquant. She was related to the royal house of Valois, but belonged to a family that arose from the extramarital affair of King Henry II with Madame Saint-Rémy.
The family was very poor, and Zhanna's mother taught her to make money with the help of cunning and feminine charm. The girl quickly mastered the science of seduction and deception and soon found a match to match - the guards officer Count Lamotte. The husband of the young adventurer was distinguished by the same passion for money, loved adventures and did not have a drop of conscience.

The newlyweds decided to settle in Paris, where there were many opportunities for enrichment and intrigue. Having looked around the new place, the insidious Jeanne chose her victim, a man who was by no means stupid and famous for his good nature - the rich man Louis de Rohan, Cardinal of Strasbourg. He belonged to high society, but Jeanne, despite her dubious origins and poverty, managed to meet him and gain “access to the body.” At the same time, according to contemporaries, Jeanne was by no means distinguished by her beauty, but she knew how to present herself in such a way and was so smart that no one could resist her charms. The cardinal was captivated by the young adventuress, showered her with money, and introduced her into his circle.

Louis XVI

Jeanne, meanwhile, announced that she had managed to briefly meet the wife of Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette. In her scams, the fraudster began to hide behind the name of the queen and soon gained a reputation as herself close friend. True, the queen later claimed that she had never known Lamott in her life. But it is not known who is right here and who is wrong - both ladies were distinguished by cunning and the ability to lie to their advantage... It is possible that the queen really brought closer to her an intelligent intriguer who knew how to make the most unexpected and profitable connections. For example, with the mysterious Count Cagliostro.

Marie Antoinette

In 1784, in the house of Cardinal Rohan, Jeanne met this amazing person, recently arrived in Paris, and very quickly found an adventurer mutual language. The two adventurers fooled the cardinal, talked a lot about clairvoyance, the elixir of life, philosopher's stone. Count Cagliostro organized his famous transformation sessions in Paris and, according to rumors, Jeanne more than once played roles in his productions, appearing in various images.

Fatal Necklace
The story of the necklace began to develop 10 years before the events described. In 1773, Louis XV decided to give a gift to his favorite Madame DuBarry, who was famous for her extraordinary beauty. The king considered that his lady of his heart should have all the best and ordered an extraordinary necklace consisting of 629 diamonds for the lady from the jewelers Bemer and Bassange clean water. Its cost was simply enormous.

But in 1774, Louis died before he could redeem the jewelry. His heir, Louis XVI, refused to pay for the necklace, saying that he would rather buy several warships with this money. The jewelers tried to influence Marie Antoinette, but she looked at the necklace sparkling with diamonds and considered it too vulgar. Behmer and Bessange were practically ruined - they purchased materials with their own money. The necklace was kept by the jewelers and was awaiting a buyer who could pay an unheard of huge sum for it...

And the adventurous couple Lamott and Count Cagliostro heard about this old story. Soon a brilliant plan was invented...

Marie Antoinette's fatal necklace

Cardinal Rohan's position at court at that time was somewhat shaken, from which he suffered a lot. Rogan dreamed more than anything else of receiving the queen’s patronage and her friendship. Jeanne constantly emphasized her friendship with Marie Antoinette and argued that she could help her lover gain goodwill at court.

Count Cagliostro and Jeanne vividly described to Rogan his future brilliant position in society, which awaited the cardinal under the patronage of the queen.

The fraudster said that she often starts conversations with the queen about her devoted Rogan, and she favorably listens to speeches about her faithful servant. One day, Jeanne came to Rogan with sensational news - the queen was waiting for him on a date today in the park of Versailles! In the evening, Rogan arrived in the park and in a secluded place he actually saw Marie Antoinette, who spoke favorably with the cardinal and gave him her rose - then Rogan ordered that this flower be enclosed in a precious frame. Inspired, Rogan flew from the park on wings, dreaming of future happiness.

Count Cagliostro

Very soon the deceived cardinal learned that the queen was not real. Shortly before this, Jeanne and her husband met milliner Nicole Legay, whose resemblance to Marie Antoinette was simply amazing. All that remained was to dress her in luxurious outfits and teach her to hold her head proud - and the queen was ready. Behind monetary reward Nicole agreed to take part in the scam, and the simple-minded Rogan did not notice the deception...

Double brand
Soon Rogan received news through Jeanne - the queen wants to buy Madame DuBarry's necklace, but asks for help from her good new friend. She wants to buy back the diamonds without publicity, and besides, it is very difficult for her to find the required amount at 1,600,000 livres, so she asks Rohan to go to the jewelers and give them her letter. In this letter, the queen asked to be given an installment plan and to hand over the necklace to her guarantor, Cardinal Rohan. The jewelers, who were well aware of Rogan’s impeccable reputation and the queen’s handwriting, happily agreed to all the conditions and gave away the necklace. Rogan handed it over to Jeanne and began to wait for favors from Marie Antoinette. But I didn’t wait...

The jewelers soon wrote a letter to the queen, in which they asked to contribute part of the amount. Marie Antoinette responded by expressing her bewilderment - she did not buy any necklace. A letter from the queen surfaced, which upon closer examination turned out to be a masterful forgery. They rushed to look for Rogan, who pointed to Mrs. Lamott. It turned out that her husband had disappeared, she herself was also going to run away, but did not have time...

She was arrested, but she claimed that she did everything on the orders of Count Cagliostro. Soon the whole company gathered in the Bastille - Jeanne, Rogan and the adventurer count. The only missing person was Count Lammot, who successfully escaped to London, where diamonds of unheard-of purity soon appeared on the jewelry market.

Meanwhile, in Paris, the trial of the century began - the trial of the queen's necklace. On May 31, 1786, the Parisian parliament passed a verdict - Cardinal Rohan and Count Cagliostro were acquitted (although the latter was ordered to leave the capital within two weeks). And Jeanne Lamott and her husband (in absentia) were sentenced to corporal punishment, branding and eternal imprisonment.

Zhanna was flogged in the square, branded with the letter “V” - thief. They say that the criminal twitched, the brand had to be put on again and two letters V remained on her shoulder - one blurred, and the other clear. Zhanna was sent to prison, but soon she mysteriously disappeared from it. An adventuress appeared in London, where she soon published sensational memoirs about the state of affairs at the French court.

These memoirs and, in general, the whole story with the necklace greatly damaged the reputation of Marie Antoinette - the French firmly believed that there was no smoke without fire, and it was not otherwise that the queen herself was involved in this strange matter. A few years later, Marie Antoinette died under the knife of the guillotine...

ABOUT future fate Zhanna knows practically nothing. There are several versions of her death, not documented. According to one of them, she jumped out of the window of an English hotel, mistaking the people entering the room for agents of the French government.

There is one interesting version, which enthusiasts are now actively researching. According to legends, in late XVIII century, a certain French countess appeared in Crimea and bought a house on the coast. There were rumors that she had untold wealth and lived by selling her very large and expensive diamonds. When local residents washed her body after death, they saw that she had a mark of two letters on her shoulder...

This story seems fantastic, but, nevertheless, at the beginning of the 20th century, a strange grave was found and photographed in Crimea, the inscription on which read: “Here lies the French Countess de Lamotte”... Later the grave disappeared under highway, laid in this place, and the photographs burned in the fire of revolutions and wars...
______________________

And now literary biography Lady Winter

Lady Winter (fr. Milady de Winter, real name - Anne de Bayle, also known as Lady Clarik, Charlotte Buckson, Baroness Sheffield, Countess de La Fère, best known as simply Milady) is a fictional heroine of the novel "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas ( 1844): villainous seductress, spy of Cardinal Richelieu, one of the main antiheroes of the novel. Her prototype is considered to be Lucy Hay, Buckingham's abandoned lover, who became Richelieu's agent out of jealousy.

Milady is described as a beautiful fair-haired woman. In d’Artagnan’s dialogue with Athos, her characteristics are given: “light, strangely light blue eyes with black eyebrows and black eyelashes,” it is indicated that she “ tall, well built." On her left shoulder there is a mark - “a small lily flower, of a reddish hue and as if half erased with the help of various rubbings.”

several films based on Dumas' book

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And, of course, everyone's favorite

Imagine that it was not Terekhova who first auditioned for the role of Milady and was even approved. Milady was to be played by Elena Solovey.

Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich says:

During the tests, a funny thing happened. Lena arrived in Odessa. They fitted her with a suit, like a living thread. Rehearsed. We're filming. And suddenly, during the test, her breasts were exposed. Huge and very beautiful. Everyone froze. And the Nightingale continues to play the scene as if nothing had happened.

I speak:

Stop! Lena, I'm sorry, but you can see everything. Let's sew it up.

She says:

But there was one serious nuance that was interfering with the work, which Nightingale was going to eliminate in the near future. She was “slightly” pregnant and had to have an abortion. Therefore it was approved. And everyone was calm about Milady.

Suddenly, just before filming began, Lena called me and said: “Georgy Emilievich, I’ve decided to give birth. I can’t have an abortion, he’s already moving.”

I'm fainting. I think: what is it like for Nikita Mikhalkov, for whom she is filming?!

Mikhalkov, they say, almost strangled her. In “Mechanical Piano,” he finished filming Lena, who was already very pregnant and therefore very round. And I, alas, was forced to refuse to work with Nightingale. If it came to filming, Milady would already be in her ninth month by the end of the second episode. From Cardinal Richelieu, probably. Would be pregnant with Mordaunt. If I had known how difficult “Twenty Years Later” would be for me, I would have structured the plot so that Mordaunt would strangle all the musketeers - just so as not to make “The Viscount”

Now let's return to the image of Milady.

Everything was disrupted. Filming was about to begin. I was simply terrified. I didn't know what to do! The plan that was invented for Nightingale no longer worked. And then I realized that I needed to use one well-known technique.

Like in painting. Red nature - a girl in a red suit, against the background of a red blanket. You work and work, and nothing works... Then you take the central figure and rewrite it in ultramarine. Sharp contrast. And suddenly everything comes to light. This is the principle I followed. And I began to rewrite the script under a kind of “James Bondshu”. To ride a horse. She fought with her feet. An image directly opposite to the soft Nightingale.

I found Terekhova and said:

Ritka, save me.

And she told me:

Come on, try to blame it on height. Boyarsky is tall.

It was a joke. The fact is that when she came to audition for a role in “Dangerous Tours”, she said:

They still won't approve me. I have a nose.

And at that time the tip of her nose was snub-nosed. And he gave her charm. Rita starred in a film with Dzhigarkhanyan, even before plastic surgery.

But it wasn't all about her appearance. The sample was excellent. At Goskino they told me: “If you want to shoot Vysotsky, shoot Pyryeva too.” But I really wanted to film Vysotsky in “Dangerous Tours” and gave in to them. And I abandoned Rita in the name of Vysotsky. I'm not a fighter. In the name of one thing, I sometimes give up a lot.

Terekhova was probably a little offended by me.

Something similar happened again on D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. They said:

Bonacieux should be Alferova.

I agreed. And further:

Milady - Penkina.

When I heard this, I threw down the documents and left for St. Petersburg. Said:

I won’t shoot your “Musketeers” or I’ll shoot it the way I want.

In general, I managed to fight off Penkina.

I honestly told everything to Rita. About the fact that Nightingale tried out and that it didn’t work out. That he rewrote the script for her. And Terekhova answers me:

Even though you are a son of a bitch, I agree. Mind you! I will dictate the terms. Of course, she didn’t dictate anything. It worked great. I speak:

Agree.

And Terekhova arrived.

We put a chiffon blouse on her, without a bra. For the first time in the history of Soviet cinema, a woman’s breasts were visible in the frame not for one shy moment, but almost constantly. I brought these samples to television to show. The editor-in-chief shook her finger at me and said:

And although you can’t do this, it’s very beautiful. If you want, shoot. Terekhova is good. But your taste is still bad.

Terekhova has breasts like Marie Antoinette. In Fuchs's "History of Morals" there is a glass cast - a bust of Marie Antoinette. This is a specimen, the most beautiful bust in the world. These are the breasts that Rita has. Incredibly beautiful. I'm talking about this not as a man, but as an artist. Everything about Rita is beautiful. Beautiful legs. Although she is not a ballerina, she has legs like Katya Maksimova. She runs very beautifully. Milady in The Three Musketeers turned out to be in absolute shape. Sexy, treacherous. I was pleased with it.

As children, we all read “The Three Musketeers” and other books from this series, many even began to love history thanks to Alexandre Dumas, but what, what, but real story there wasn’t so much there... However, such characters as Richelieu, Mazarin, both Louis, Queen Anne of Austria, Louise de La Valliere are, of course, completely reliable, historical persons. Even d\"Artagnan - he also had prototypes. But Athos, Porthos, Aramis, my lady - everyone will say that these characters are completely fictitious, the brainchild of Dumas himself. And they will be wrong. At least in relation to my lady.

Because this character was very real historical prototype. Moreover, the prototype is so interesting that it is worthy of a separate adventure book, which may someday be written. (The fact that she lived a little later than the events described in “The Three Musketeers”, in general, does not matter much.)

The real story of this woman seems fictitious - there is so much intrigue and deceit in it. And listing the real historical figures who participated in it will do honor to any adventure novel: Queen Marie Antoinette, Count Cagliostro and, in fact, the famous adventurer Jeanne de Lamotte herself, the famous swindler who eventually became the prototype of Milady from The Three Musketeers.

Jeanne de Lamotte, née Saint-Rémy de Valois, was born in 1756.

This family was very poor, and Zhanna’s mother taught the girl to earn money with the help of cunning and feminine charm. It must be said that the girl quickly mastered the science of seduction and deception and soon found a match for herself - the guards officer Count Lamotte. The groom of the young adventurer was distinguished by the same passion for money, loved adventures and did not have a drop of conscience. They quickly found a common language and got married.

After the wedding, the newlyweds decided to settle in Paris, where there were not many opportunities for enrichment and intrigue, but a lot. Having looked around the new place, the insidious Jeanne chose her victim, a man who was by no means stupid and famous for his good nature - the rich man Louis de Rohan, Cardinal of Strasbourg.

This cardinal belonged to high society, but Jeanne, despite her dubious origins and poverty, managed to meet him and gain “access to the body.” At the same time, according to contemporaries, Jeanne was by no means distinguished by her beauty, but she knew how to present herself in such a way and was so smart that no one could resist her charms. The cardinal was captivated by the young adventuress, showered her with money, introduced her into his circle...

Jeanne, meanwhile, announced in society that she managed to briefly meet the wife of Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette. In her scams, the fraudster began to hide behind the name of the queen and soon gained the reputation of her closest friend.

True, Marie Antoinette later claimed that she had never known Jeanne de Lamotte in her life. But it is not known who was right here and who was not - both ladies were distinguished by cunning and the ability to lie to their advantage... It is possible that the queen really brought closer to her an intelligent intriguer who knew how to make the most unexpected and profitable connections. For example, with the mysterious Count Cagliostro.

In 1784, in the house of Cardinal Louis de Rohan, Jeanne de Lamotte met this amazing man, who had recently arrived in Paris, and very quickly found a common language with the adventurer. Both adventurers successfully and actively fooled the cardinal and had long conversations about clairvoyance, the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone.

At that time, these topics were very relevant and of interest to literally everyone. It was in the wake of this interest that Count Cagliostro organized his famous transformation sessions in Paris and, according to rumors, Jeanne more than once played roles in his productions, appearing in various images.

And then it starts amazing interesting story with a fatal necklace. This story began to develop ten years before the events described, when Louis XV in 1773 decided to present a gift to his favorite Madame DuBarry, famous for her extraordinary beauty. The king considered that his lady of his heart should have all the best and ordered an extraordinary necklace for the charming lady from jewelers Bemer and Bassange, consisting of 629 pure diamonds. Its cost was simply fantastic, it was a fortune.

And an adventurous couple, Jeanne de Lamotte and Count Cagliostro, heard about this old story. Soon a brilliant plan was invented...

The fraudster also told the cardinal that she often starts conversations with the queen about her devoted Rogan, and she supposedly listens favorably to speeches about her faithful servant. One day, Jeanne arrived at the Cardinal of Strasbourg with sensational news - the queen was waiting for him on a date today in the park of Versailles! In the evening, Louis de Rohan arrived at the designated park and in a secluded place he actually saw Marie Antoinette. The Queen spoke favorably with the cardinal and gave him her rose - then Rogan ordered to enclose this flower in a precious frame. The inspired cardinal flew from the park on wings, dreaming of future happiness.

Very soon the deceived cardinal learned that the queen was not real. Shortly before this, Jeanne and her husband met milliner Nicole Legay, whose resemblance to Marie Antoinette was simply amazing. All that remained was to dress her up in luxurious outfits and teach her to hold her head proud - and the queen was ready. For a monetary reward, the milliner agreed to take part in the scam, and the simple-minded cardinal did not notice the deception...

Soon, Louis de Rohan received news through Jeanne that Queen Marie Antoinette wanted to buy Madame DuBarry's necklace, but was asking for help from her good new friend. She allegedly wants to buy the diamonds without publicity, and, in addition, it is very difficult for her to find the required amount of 1 million 600 thousand livres, so she asks the cardinal to go to the jewelers and give them her letter.

The jewelers soon wrote a letter to the queen, in which they asked to contribute part of the amount. Marie Antoinette responded by expressing her bewilderment, because she did not buy any necklace. Moreover, she made it clear that she simply did not like the necklace. Then a letter from the queen surfaced, which, upon closer examination, turned out to be a skillfully crafted fake. They rushed to look for the cardinal, who pointed to Madame de Lamotte. It turned out that her husband had disappeared, she herself was also going to run away, but did not have time...

The lady was arrested, but she claimed that she did everything on the orders of Count Cagliostro. Soon the whole company gathered in the Bastille - Jeanne le Lamotte, Louis de Rogan and the adventurer count. The only missing person was Count de Lammott, who successfully disappeared into London, where diamonds of unheard-of purity soon appeared on the jewelry market.

Meanwhile, in Paris, the trial of the century began - the trial of the queen's necklace. On May 31, 1786, the Parisian parliament passed a verdict - Cardinal Louis de Rohan and Count Cagliostro were acquitted (although the latter was ordered to leave the capital within two weeks), and Jeanne de Lamotte and her wife (in absentia) were sentenced by the parliament to corporal punishment, branding and eternal life. imprisonment.

These memoirs and, in general, the whole story with the necklace greatly damaged the reputation of Marie Antoinette - the French firmly believed that there was no smoke without fire, and it was not otherwise that the queen herself was involved in this strange matter. A few years later, Marie Antoinette died under the guillotine...

I noticed that many male readers especially liked the character Milady. More than once I heard “Milady! Oh, what a woman!”, “D’Artagnan *** - he offended such a woman!” I had a neutral attitude towards this heroine; for example, she didn’t infuriate me.
Of course, the charming spy Lady Winter had her own real prototype- English Countess of Carlisle (aka Lucy Hay), who served as a secret agent for Cardinal Richelieu.
Contemporaries called her a witch endowed with demonic powers and suggested her connection with secret magical societies.
Yes, Alexandre Dumas did not invent the story of the royal pendants himself either. The author of this story is La Rochefoucauld, a Baroque writer-philosopher who was personally acquainted with Queen Anne and the Duke of Buckingham.

The historical milady had her reasons for disliking Buckingham.

"Lady Lucy Percy", Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)

The real Milady is Lucy Hay (née Percy), aka Countess of Carlisle (1599 - 1660). Daughter of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland.
Her father, deprived of royal favor, was imprisoned in the Tower. In order to save herself from ruin, Lucy, at the age of 18, married an elderly landowner. Two years later she was widowed and remarried James Hay Earl of Carlisle, her cousin.

The Duke of Buckingham turned his attention to the society lady. Lucy was then 20 years old, Countess Carlisle became Buckingham's favorite. The Duke promised the Countess influence in society and wealth, but did not keep his words. He turned his attention to the French Queen Anne, decided to charm her and gain political support. The Duke forgot about the promise given to the favorite.

The ambitious Countess of Carlisle decided to take revenge on the Duke. By chance, fate brought her together with Cardinal Richelieu, and the lady became a French spy. This is how Milady appears in Dumas’ novel; she successfully completes the cardinal’s espionage missions.

Here is how La Rochefoucauld described Lucy Carlyle's decision to serve Richelieu:
“The cardinal, having explained to the countess that their feelings were similar and that they had common interests, managed to so skillfully master the arrogant and jealous soul of this woman that she became his most dangerous spy under the Duke of Buckingham. Out of a thirst to reprimand him for his infidelity and a desire to become necessary to the Cardinal, she spared no effort to obtain for him indisputable evidence to confirm his suspicions about the queen.”

In the memoirs of the writer La Rochefoucauld, the episode with the pendants is described in great detail. Only the historical d’Artagnan did not participate in this matter; he was 5 years old at the time.

“The Duke of Buckingham, as I said above, was a dandy and loved splendor: he made a lot of efforts to appear in meetings perfectly dressed, Countess Carlyle, for whom it was so important to keep an eye on him, soon noticed that for some time now he began to wear previously undressed clothes. diamond pendants known to her. She had no doubt at all that the queen had given them to him, but in order to be completely convinced of this, one day at a ball she took time to talk with the Duke of Buckingham in private and cut off these pendants from him in order to send them to the Cardinal. The Duke of Buckingham discovered the loss that same evening and, judging that the pendants had been stolen by Countess Carlyle, was afraid of the consequences of her jealousy and began to fear that she might be able to transport them to the Cardinal and thereby destroy the queen.

"Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress" (Portrait of Lucy Hay), Adrian Hanneman (1603-1671)

To avert this danger, he immediately sent out an order to close all the harbors of England and ordered that no one be allowed out of the country under any circumstances until the time he specified. Meanwhile, at his command, other pendants were hastily made, exactly the same as the stolen ones, and he sent them to the queen, reporting everything that had happened. This precaution with the closure of the harbors prevented Countess Carlyle from carrying out her plan, and she realized that the Duke of Buckingham had enough time to prevent the implementation of her insidious plan. The Queen thus escaped the vengeance of this enraged woman, and the Cardinal lost the right way to incriminate the queen and confirm the doubts that plagued the king: after all, he knew these pendants well, since he himself gave them to the queen.”

In Dumas' novel, Lady Winter persuades a religious fanatic to kill Buckingham, and she carries out the cardinal's order to “remove the Duke.” The real Milady, Countess Carlisle, had a personal motive for wanting the Duke’s death - revenge. They said that the countess also helped direct the “assassin’s dagger,” but all this remained secular gossip.

In Dumas's novel, the duke's killer is also called Felton, just like the real killer Buckingham. The writer outlined the gossip about the countess's involvement in Buckingham's death in his novel, adding color.

Buckingham's widow in mourning with a portrait of her husband

Countess Lucy Carlyle had a magical charm; they said that she knew how to bewitch her fans. Dumas endowed his heroine, Milady Winter, with this talent. One of the names of the bookish milady is Lady Clarik, which is similar to the name Carlisle.“The irresistible charm of mystical voluptuousness is the most destructive of all passions.”

The poet Robert Herrick wrote about the mystical attractiveness of the Countess of Carlisle.
I am a black silk lace
I could look at her wrist;
He gently wrapped his hand around
It was as if he had shackled a prisoner.
The dungeon was joyless,
But here comes the morning star,
And, pushing aside the solid shadow,
Before us are night and day together.
I'm imagining! if there,
In captivity, freedom is a wondrous temple,
I'm asking for love and I'm ready
Those gloomy ones cannot be removed from their shackles.

In the Baroque era, adherents of mystical societies wore a black cord on their arms. They said that magic helped the countess in love and politics. Milady remained immune to intrigue by setting traps for others.

Dumas describes Milady Winter as a witch:
“But nevertheless, many times during this evening she despaired of her fate and herself; True, she did not call on God, but she believed in the help of the spirit of evil, in this powerful force that rules human life in its smallest manifestations and which, as it narrates Arabian tale“One pomegranate seed is enough to revive an entire lost world.”

The Count says that he executed her in her youth. But milady surprisingly survived.
“The count was the sovereign master on his land and had the right to execute and pardon his subjects. He completely tore the countess’s dress, tied her hands behind her back and hung her on a tree.”

In my opinion, such an act does not fit with the image of a noble hero. In addition, he is an alcoholic, which is constantly mentioned in the novel.
“And, grabbing the last bottle, Athos raised the neck to his lips and drank it in one gulp, as if it were an ordinary glass.
Maybe he committed lynching when he was drunk, and then overslept and didn’t really remember what he did... The count loved to drink, it was a sin.
I remember the dialogue from the humoresque of the 90s
- I want to marry the Count de La Fère!
- Lost her mind? He's an alcoholic! That cardinal is a cool guy!

By the way, the actor Veniamin Smekhov, in whose performance Count de La Fère looks brilliant, answered questions about this character and said: “The Count is good to everyone, but why did he kill the girl? Milady... I don’t agree with him.”
Yes, Milady in the novel can be called a “girl”, she is only 25 years old. She is one year younger than Constance, who is 26 years old.


Milady is poisoning Constance. Madame Bonacieux is a typical victim character. In detective stories, such heroines become victims of crimes.

The Comte de La Fère speaks about Milady's demonic power.
- You are a demon sent to earth! - Athos began. “Your power is great, I know, but you also know that people with God's help often defeated the most fearsome demons. You have already been on my path once. I thought I had wiped you off the face of the earth, madam, but either I was mistaken, or hell has resurrected you...
At these words, which awakened terrible memories in her, my lady lowered her head and groaned dully.
“Yes, hell resurrected you,” continued Athos, “hell made you rich, hell gave you a different name, hell changed your face almost beyond recognition, but it did not wash away either the dirt from your soul or the stigma from your body!”

I’ll grumble a little about the moral character of the romantic “good” d’Artagnan. Movies usually show only his “great and pure” love for Constance.

At first, d'Artagnan sneaks into Milady's bedroom at night, posing as her lover, de Ward. In the darkness he remains unrecognized. Then, frightened, he writes Milady a letter on behalf of de Wardes - that he wants to part with her. Then he receives an invitation from Milady to come to her, which he is very happy about. Milady asks him to kill de Wardes, who insulted her. And then came the awkward moment...
Along the way, d'Artagnan seduces Katie, Milady's maid. In general, a hero of his time, an interesting type... but does not inspire admiration.

Dumas mentions that the Gascon was seriously interested in Milady, and about pure love He forgot to even think about Constance.
“The only thing that was clear in this whole story was that d’Artagnan was madly in love with my lady and that she did not love him at all...
...he wanted to possess this woman once again, already under his own name, and since this revenge had a certain sweetness in his eyes, he was unable to refuse it.”

Milady possessed demonic powers and, according to the Gascon:
“He mentally endowed this woman, who seemed to him like a demon, with allies as supernatural as herself; at the slightest rustle he imagined that they had come to arrest him...”

Actress Margarita Terekhova recalled that while playing the role she encountered mystical sensations:
“While working on the role of Milady, the forces of evil seemed to swirl around me. Otherwise I cannot explain what happened. Let’s say I needed to draw a brand in the scene when D’Artagnan accidentally learned Milady’s secret. Yura (director of the film Yungvald-Khilkevich) is also an artist. He says: “I’ll draw it for you now.” And suddenly he begins to call everyone. “Look, she has a red spot - you just need to circle it.” Can you imagine? I called everyone and simply outlined the lily that appeared on my shoulder.

I am a nervous woman, this seemed strange to me. We played this scene. But the further it goes, the worse it gets. Some inexplicable things began to happen. My hair began to fall off a little. At first I left my bag, I don’t remember where, then I lost the ticket with which I had to go on tour. I was so scared that I left everything in Odessa. Some strange forces swirled above me. It seems to me that this is precisely the natural mixture of emotions, energy and some otherworldly phenomena on which everything was based.”

Terekhova's Milady is truly terrifying in some scenes. For sure, Count Athos could only marry someone like this when he was drunk.

According to the book, Lady Winter was killed by the musketeers. Honestly, I believed that she would appear again like after that “hanging” and arrange for these “heroes” having a fun life. Unfortunately, Milady's adventures in Dumas's novels ended so sadly.

The historical Milady outlived the literary heroine.
On the eve of the revolution in England, the countess was simultaneously a spy for two political opponents of Thomas Wentfort, a supporter of the king, and Duke John Pym, his opponent. The attempt by the royal authorities to arrest Pym became one of the reasons for the start of the English Revolution.

John Pym

Countess Carlisle deftly managed the English Revolution. She was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria, widow of the executed Charles I, who was in exile in Paris. She became a “triple” agent, depending on her interests, she transmitted spy information to her queen, the English parliamentarians of the new government and supporters of the restoration of the monarchy in England. Queen Henrietta Maria, according to the recollections of friends, tried to protect herself from Carlisle's influence, but could not resist her inexplicable manipulative power.

However, in 1649, at the age of 50, Milady stumbled in her spy games and ended up in Tower prison. Lady Carlisle spent about a year and a half in prison. It was said that Milady was provided with decent accommodation, game, wine and desserts were served for dinner, and society friends could visit her.



After her release, Countess Carlisle left her job as a spy and retired to her beloved estate, where she lived for another 10 years.

Milady is one of the main characters in Alexandre Dumas's novel The Three Musketeers. In the past, she bore the name of Countess de La Fère, was the wife of Athos, whom he, seeing the mark of a criminal on her shoulder, hung. However, Milady managed to escape, and she became a confidant of Cardinal Richelieu, and therefore an enemy of the musketeers. On the pages of the novel, the musketeers successfully destroy her cunning plans. But still, Milady faces inevitable death because she killed Constance Bonacieux, d'Artagnan's beloved. The musketeers execute Milady in the remote town of Armentieres. This woman, cunning, heartless and intelligent, is not stopped by anything; she strives to fulfill her plans and carry out Richelieu’s political intrigues at any cost.

She has absolutely no remorse when she, taking advantage of her angelic appearance, seduces and sends to certain death the fanatic Felton, since she received orders from Richelieu to kill the Duke of Buckingham. For this murder, the cardinal promised Milady to allow reprisals against d'Artagnan. She mercilessly kills Constance with poison, who upset Richelieu's plans. Milady cleverly uses the cardinal for her own purposes, copes with the most dangerous situations and always achieves what he wants with the help of dirty intrigues and atrocities. The image of Milady contrasts sharply with the images of the main characters - the noble musketeers. She has only negative qualities.

Dumas presented Milady as a heroine-villain who provokes danger for the main characters. In the conditions she created, the musketeers get the opportunity to demonstrate their fearlessness and endurance. Milady involves the musketeers in endless adventures; together with Richelieu, she forms the background against which the undoubted merits of these heroes stand out even more clearly.

Effective preparation for the Unified State Exam (all subjects) - start preparing

Updated: 2012-12-28

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