Fourth musketeer D’Artagnan discovered in Dutch church

The name of D’Artagnan was immortalised by Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, more than 100 films, a musical and even an anthropomorphic cartoon featuring swashbuckling dogs.

But the chivalrous hero’s final resting place has remained a mystery for centuries since his death in 1673 – until now, perhaps.

Renovation work on an ancient Dutch church has uncovered a skeleton that evidence suggests is that of the fourth musketeer.

Hopes are high that DNA testing will confirm that the bones found in St Peter and Paul church in Wolder, near Maastricht, belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore, the Earl of Artagnan or “D’Artagnan”.

Such a result would be a twist worthy of the tales of derring-do, espionage, brotherhood and courtly intrigue that made the motto “All for one and one for all” famous.

Wim Dijkman, an archaeologist, told Dutch broadcaster L1Nieuws: “My expectations are high. I have been researching D’Artagnan’s tomb for 28 years. This could be the highlight of my career.

“So far, nothing has been found that contradicts the idea that this is not him. But again, I am awaiting the DNA analysis.”

Dumas’s 1844 novel has a fictionalised D’Artagnan and his three friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis taking on the Machiavellian Cardinal Richelieu and the seductive femme fatale Milady.

The real D’Artagnan was King Louis XIV’s right-hand man and a member of his low-paid but highly regarded elite royal bodyguard who was entrusted with secret missions.

He played an important role in a string of French military successes before being killed on June 25, 1673, when he was shot in the chest or throat during the siege of Maastricht.

The King wrote sorrowfully to the Queen that he had “lost D’Artagnan, in whom I had every confidence”.

With the battle continuing to rage in warm weather, it was decided to bury D’Artagnan on the spot rather than take his body to Paris. The French army had set up camp near the St Peter and Paul church.

There has been a church on the site since possibly as early as the 11th century. The present-day building is probably the second or third.

The floor in the nave subsided in February. The renovation work that followed revealed the skeleton just in front of the altar.

The remains of a musket ball were near the skeleton’s ribs, which corresponds with the historical accounts of D’Artagnan’s death. Archaeologists also found a French coin in the grave.

Jos Valke, a deacon, was present at the dig and is convinced the find is historically significant.

“The skeleton lay on the spot where the altar used to stand,” he said. “Only royal or other important figures were buried under the altar at the time.”

A DNA sample was taken from the teeth of the skeleton on March 13. A Munich laboratory is comparing it with DNA from one of D’Artagnan’s living descendants, and the results are expected soon.

The skeleton and grave items have been removed from the church and are now at an archaeological institute in the Dutch city of Deventer. An alarm system has been installed at the church to deter would-be grave robbers.

Wim Hillenaar, the mayor of Maastricht, told L1Nieuws: “If the DNA analysis confirms this, it would be a remarkable discovery within an important chapter in the history of Maastricht.

“At the same time, it is now of great importance that the ongoing investigation can be conducted with the necessary care and scientific accuracy. Until those results are known, restraint is appropriate.”

D’Artagnan has evolved from French national hero to international cultural icon since Dumas’s serialised stories.

Film adaptations featuring him date back to the birth of cinema, and have starred Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, Charlie Sheen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom and many other stars.

In the early 1980s, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, a Spanish-Japanese cartoon featuring chivalrous canines, enchanted a generation of adventure-loving boys and girls.

Many can still remember its earworm of a theme tune, which boasted a chorus of barks.

In 2004, Volodymyr Zelensky starred in the Three Musketeers, a comedy musical in which the heroic trio and the King’s bodyguard are all women.

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.