biography
| name: |
Louis XV
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known as Louis le Bien-Aimé (‘Louis the Well-Beloved’)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1710–74)
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| biography:
| King of France (1715–74), born in Versailles, NC France, the son of Louis, duc de Bourgogne and Marie-Adelaide of Savoy, and the great-grandson of Louis XIV, whom he succeeded at the age of five. His reign coincided with the great age of decorative art in the Rococo mode (dubbed the Louis XV style). Until he came of age (1723) he was guided by the regent, Philippe d'Orléans, and then by the Duc de Bourbon, who negotiated a marriage alliance with Maria Leszczynska, daughter of the deposed King Stanislas I of Poland. In 1726 Bourbon was replaced by the king's former tutor, the elderly Fleury, who skilfully steered the French state until his death (1744). Thereafter Louis vowed to rule without a First Minister, but allowed the government to drift into the hands of ministerial factions, while indulging in secret diplomatic activity, distinct from official policy, through his own network of agents. This system - le secret du roi - brought confusion to French foreign policy in the years prior to the Diplomatic Revolution (1748–56), and obscured the country's interests overseas. Instead, France was drawn into a trio of continental wars during Louis's reign, which culminated in the loss of the French colonies in America and India (1763). In 1771 Louis tried to introduce reforms, but these came too late to staunch the decline in royal authority. He was succeeded by his grandson, Louis XVI. |
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