New D'Artagnan film: How his family protect the real Musketeer spirit

D'Artagnan is about to be celebrated in a new children's film. But his real-life descendants take his legacy rather more seriously, discovers Geoffrey Macnab

Swash, buckled: D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) in BBC1's The Musketeers (Larry Horricks/BBC)

He is the hero of Alexandre Dumas's novels and he has been portrayed on screen by actors from Douglas Fairbanks and Gene Kelly to Michael York. D'Artagnan, the most dashing of all the musketeers, may seem to us like a fictional figure. However, Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan – to give him his name in full – was a real historical character and his descendants are doing their best to live up to his reputation. These descendants belong to one of the most aristocratic families in France.

Last weekend in Limburg, Holland, Pierre de Montesquiou attended the screening of the latest movie to foreground his illustrious ancestor. Code M: The Sword Of D'Artagnan is a Dutch kids' movie that purports to be the first film to tell "the authentic and historic story of D'Artagnan". Directed by Dennis Bots, the film follows three teenagers searching for the sword of D'Artagnan, who died in Limburg in 1673 during the Siege of Maastricht.

A new tourist trail, "La Route Européenne D'Artagnan", is being developed that will take enthusiasts to all the places the real D'Artagnan visited in his life, starting in his birthplace Lupiac and ending up in Maastricht.

Meanwhile, the new films and TV dramas keep on coming.

"They are taking a lot of liberties," Pierre de Montesquiou complains of the many fictional accounts of D'Artagnan. At the same time, the young French aristocrat acknowledges that he and his family are flattered by the attention.

1980s cartoon 'Dogtanian' (Rex)

Forty years ago, Pierre's grandfather launched a new order – Compagnie de Mousquetaires de Armagnac. Pierre's father, French senator Aymeri de Montesquiou, is currently "Captain" of the organisation.

"It (the Society) was created to celebrate the musketeer spirit, of course, and also to promote Armagnac (brandy) from Gascony," Pierre explains. "Now, we have more than 3,000 members all around the world, from South Asia to the States." There is a Senegal chapter; one in Vietnam, and, perhaps appropriately given its links with steel, a new one in Pittsburgh.

The honorary members of "The International Squadron Of Musketeers" include Jeremy Irons and Leonardo Di Caprio (who appeared in a movie version of The Man In The Iron Mask), and His Majesty, King Karl Gustav XVI of Sweden.

Yes, the motto is still "All For One And One For All." A little disappointingly, though, the modern-day musketeers don't specialise in sword fighting, horse riding or rescuing men in iron masks.

"We are responsible for the spirit of D'Artagnan and the musketeers," Pierre explains. Members run the gamut from movie stars to wine growers in Gascony.

"What links us is this spirit of courage – and the fact that we like to party too, like a good musketeer. We enjoy defending Armagnac and we try to promote it."

There is an annual meeting of 500-600 of the most doughty musketeers every September in the town of Condom. "It is a huge dinner and celebration where we introduce from 40 to 50 new musketeers each year," says Pierre.

What isn't often remarked is the link between D'Artagnan and Marcel Proust, author of Remembrance Of Things Past. One of the swashbuckler's descendants was the French aesthete Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921), who inspired the character of the outrageous homosexual dandy Baron de Charlus in Proust's literary epic.

Pierre, 36, works in digital advertising but spends much of his spare time on Musketeer activities. Membership is through personal recommendation. It costs around €70 a year to be part of the Squadron.

"We don't have any considerations for politics or religion. Anyone who has the spirit of a musketeer is eligible to join!"