Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)

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Louis
Dauphin of Viennois
Louis, Dauphin of France
Spouse Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain
Duchess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony
Issue
Princess Marie Thérèse
Louis XVI
Louis XVIII
Charles X
Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia
Princess Élisabeth
Father Louis XV
Mother Maria Leszczyńska
Born 4 August 1729(1729-08-04)
Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
Died 20 December 1765 (aged 36)
Château de Fontainebleau, France

Louis de France[1][2], Dauphin of France (4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765), was the only son of King Louis XV of France and his wife, Queen Maria Leszczyńska, to reach adulthood. He had a younger brother who died before his third birthday. As the son of the king, Louis was a Fils de France. He was the father of three kings of France, Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.

Contents

[edit] Early life and education

Louis was born at the Palace of Versailles. The birth of an heir to the throne had long been awaited since the tragic decimation of the French royal family in the early 1710s (see Louis XV of France). When the fourth pregnancy of Marie Leszczyńska resulted in a son in 1729, there was popular rejoicing. In all the major cities of France there were fireworks (many memorialized in engravings).

At Rome and other European courts there were also celebrations, since Louis' birth ensured the French succession. As the heir apparent to the throne of France, he was given the traditional title of Dauphin of France.

According to the custom of the French royal family, Louis was baptised privately and without a name by Cardinal Armand de Rohan. On 27 April, 1737 when he was seven years old the public ceremony of the other baptismal rites took place. It was at this point that he was given the name Louis. His godparents were Louis, Duke of Orléans and the Dowager Duchess of Bourbon (widow of Louis III, Prince of Condé).

Louis' governess was Madame de Ventadour who had previously served as his father's governess. When he was seven years old, the Duke of Châtillon was named his governor, the Count of Muy was named under-governor, and Jean-François Boyer, formerly bishop of Mirepoix, was named preceptor.

From an early age Louis took a great interest in the military arts. He was bitterly disappointed when his father would not permit him to join the 1744 campaign in the War of the Austrian Succession. When his father became deathly ill with fever at Metz, Louis disobeyed orders and went to his bedside. This rash action, which could have resulted in the deaths of both Louis and his father, resulted in a permanent change in the relations between father and son. Up to this point Louis XV had doted on his son, but henceforth the relationship was more distant. He was very close to his three oldest sisters.

[edit] Marriages

[edit] Maria Teresa of Spain

In 1744 Louis XV negotiated a marriage between his fifteen year old son and the nineteen year old Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, daughter of King Philip V of Spain and his Italian wife, Elisabeth of Parma. The marriage contract was signed 13 December 1744; the marriage was celebrated by proxy at Madrid 18 December 1744 and in person at Versailles 23 February 1745.

Louis and Maria Teresa were well matched and had a real affection for each other. They had one daughter:

Three days after the birth of their daughter Louis' wife Maria Teresa died on 22 July 1746. Louis was only sixteen years old. He grieved intensely at the loss of his wife, but his responsibility to provide for the succession to the French crown necessitated that he marry again quickly.

In 1746 Louis received the Order of the Golden Fleece from his father-in-law King Philip V of Spain.[3]

[edit] Marie-Josèphe of Saxony

On 10 January 1747 Louis was married by proxy at Dresden to Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the fifteen year old younger daughter of Frederick Augustus II, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and his wife, Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. A second marriage ceremony took place in person at Versailles on 9 February 1747.

[edit] Issue

Name Portrait Lifespan Notes
Marie Zéphyrine de France
Madame Royale		 Marie Zéphirine de France.jpg 26 August 1750 -
1 September 1755		 Born at Versailles, she was known as Madame Royale at court; died at Versailles aged 5
Louis Joseph Xavier de France
Duke of Burgundy		 Louis Joseph Xavier of France, Duke of Burgundy.jpg 13 September 1751-
22 March 1761		 Heir of the Dauphin, he died at Versailles aged 9 much to the distress of his family;
Xavier Marie Joseph de France
Duke of Aquitine		 Grand Royal Coat of Arms of France.svg 8 September 1753 –
22 February 1754		 Born at the Palace of Versailles dying there aged 5 months;
Louis Auguste de France
King of France
Duke of Berry		 Ludvig XVI av Frankrike porträtterad av AF Callet.jpg 23 August 1754 –
21 January 1793		 Born at Versailles, was later husband of Marie Antoinette and King of France; had issue;
Louis Stanislas Xavier de France
King of France
Count of Provence		 JoungLouisXVIII.jpg 17 November 1755 –
16 September 1824		 Born at Versailles, he married Princess Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy and had no issue; later King of France;
Charles Philippe de France
King of France
Count of Artois		 Charles X Roi de France et de Navarre.jpg 9 October 1757 –
6 November 1836		 Born at Versailles, he married Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy and had issue; was later King of France;
Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière de France
Queen of Sardinia		 Madameclotilde.jpg 23 September 1759 –
7 March 1802		 Born at Versailles, she married the future Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia and had no issue;
Élisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène de France
Madame Élisabeth		 Madame-elisabeth-2.jpg 3 May 1764 –
10 May 1794		 Born at Versailles, she never married and was executed in the French Revolution aged 30;

Maria Josepha also had a stillborn son in 1748 and again in 1749. A stillborn daughter in 1752; Stillborn son in 1756. She also miscarried a son in 1762

[edit] Personality

v • d • e
House of Bourbon
Grand Royal Coat of Arms of France.svg

Louis was rather plump. He was well educated: a studious man, cultivated, and a lover of music, he preferred the pleasures of conversation to those of hunting, balls, or spectacles. With a keen sense of morality, he was very much committed to his wife, Marie-Josèphe, as she was to him.

Very devout, he was a fervent supporter of the Jesuits, like his mother and sisters, and was led by them to have a devotion to the Sacred Heart. He appeared in the eyes of his sisters as the ideal of the Christian prince, in sharp contrast with their father who was a notorious womanizer.

[edit] Later life and death

Kept away from government affairs by his father, Louis was at the center of the Dévots, a group of religiously-minded men who hoped to gain power when he succeeded to the throne.

Louis died of consumption at Fontainebleau in 1765 at the age of 36, while his father was still alive, thus never becoming king of France. His mother, Queen Marie Leszczyńska, and maternal grandfather, Stanisław Leszczyński, the Duke of Lorraine, also survived him. His eldest surviving son, Louis-Auguste, Duc de Berry, became the new dauphin, and later ascended the throne as Louis XVI at the death of Louis XV.

Louis was buried in the Cathedral of St Étienne in Sens. His heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint Denis.

[edit] Ancestry

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Louis XIV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Louis, Dauphin of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Burgundy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Maria Anna of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Louis XV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Princess Marie Jeanne of Savoy-Nemours
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Anne Marie of Orléans
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Princess Henrietta Anne of England
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Louis, Dauphin of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. Bogusław Leszczyński
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Rafał Leszczyński, Duke of Lesno
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. Countess Anna von Denhoff
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. Prince Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Anna Jabłonowska
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. Countess Marianna Kazanowska
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Maria Leszczyńska
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Count Krzystof Opaliński
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Count Jan Karol Opaliński
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. Countess Teresa Konstancya Czarnkowska
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Countess Katarzyna Opalińska
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. Count Adam-Uryel Czarnkowski
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Countess Zofia Czarnkowska
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Countess Teresa Zaleska
 
 
 
 
 
 

[edit] References

  1. ^ Achaintre, Nicolas Louis, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de Bourbon, Vol. 2, (Publisher Mansut Fils, 4 Rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, 1825), 153.
  2. ^ He is called simply Louis by the most reputed biographies (including the earliest ones by Proyart and Rozoir), the major genealogical works about the House of Bourbon (including Achaintre and Dussieux) and numerous engravings. Several modern works (e.g. Antonia Fraser, Marie Antoinette) and some websites call him Louis Ferdinand to distinguish him from his father and his two sons.
  3. ^ Nicolas-Louis Achaintre, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de Bourbon (Paris: Mansut, 1825), II, 149. T. F. Boettger says he received it in 1739.

[edit] Further reading

  • Broglie, Emmanuel de. Le fils de Louis XV, Louis, dauphin de France, 1729-1765. Paris: E. Plon, 1877.
  • Dechêne, Abel. Le dauphin, fils de Louis XV. Paris: Librairie du dauphin, 1931.
  • Ducaud-Bourget, François. Louis, dauphin de France: le fils du Bien-Aimé. Paris: Conquistador, 1961.
  • Hours, Bernard. La vertu et le secret: le dauphin, fils de Louis XV. Paris: Champion, 2006.
  • Huertas, Monique de. Marie-Josèphe de Saxe: mère de nos trois derniers rois de France et de Madame Elizabeth. Paris: Pygmalion, 1995.
  • Proyart, Liévin-Bonaventure. Vie du dauphin, père de Louis XVI. Lyon: Bruyset-Ponthus, 1788.
  • Rozoir, Charles du. Le dauphin, fils de Louis XV et père de Louis XVI et de Louis XVIII. Paris: Eymery, 1815.
  • Zieliński, Ryszard. Polka na francuskim tronie. Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1978.

[edit] External links

  • De la Tour's pastels at the Musée l'Écuyer, Saint-Quentin, (in French) the pastel illustrated above described as a study for one of four portraits De la Tour made of the Dauphin (according to a letter of the Marquis de Marigny), of which the only known survivor, at the Louvre is dated 1748. The curators at the Musée l'Écuyer consider the study above to have served perhaps for the first of these portraits, that of 1745.
Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 4 September 1729 Died: 20 December 1765
French royalty
Preceded by
Louis		 Dauphin of France
4 September 1729–20 December 1765		 Succeeded by
Louis-Auguste
Preceded by
Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans		 Heir to the Throne
as Heir apparent
4 September 1729 — 20 December 1765		 Succeeded by
Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_(1729%E2%80%931765)"