King+Louis+XV

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Born on February 15, 1710, nobody believed that Louis would gain the throne since his mother, Marie Adelaide of Savoy, already had two sons. Unfortunately, his brother died in 1705 as an infant and his grandfather, Louis of France was next in line for the throne. Later, a series of unfortunate events happened within the family that changed his life forever. When he was still a baby, his grandfather died and at the age five both his parents and his eldest brother passed away from illness. When his great-grandfather died in 1715, Louis became king at only five years old. Since he was a toddler at the time, the Duke of Orleans ruled as his regent. ======

As he was growing up, Louis had a lonely childhood. He was mostly around adults and didn't have many kids his own age to talk to. Louis developed an interest in science and he was tutored by the future Cardinal Andrè Hercule de Fleury. After Louis's uncle died in 1723, he turned to Fleury and they became close. Fleury became Louis's first minister a few years later and later became France's de facto ruler until his death in 1743. Louis was betrothed to the daughter of his Uncle, King Philip V of Spain. He ended up marrying Marie Leszczynska, daughter of a dethroned king in Poland, in 1725 when he was only fifteen years old. Together, they had ten children but only seven survived into adulthood.

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Louis was admired by his people at the beginning of the War of Austrian Succession after he fought on the battlefield with his soldiers. He choose to rule without a first minister after Fleury's death in 1743. In 1744, he earned the nickname Le Bien-Aime, which translates to "The Well-Loved", after he fell ill and miraculously recovered a short time later. The War of Austrian Succession was very costly for France and Louis started to lose his people's affections as the war went on. Louis's mistress (their relationship started in 1740), Madame de Pompadour, became his most close confidante and advisor and she helped him with many of his decisions. During the Seven Years War, which began in 1756, Louis sided with Austria after tensions with Britain made him uneasy. Unfortunately, France lost and was forced to surrender a couple of its holdings abroad. There was an assassination attempt on his life on January 5, 1757 after the war. He was stabbed in his side by a supporter of the French parliament. ======

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In the 1760's and 1770's, the French government tried to reform the nation, but their efforts did not work very well. Louis XV did not have the leadership skills and the drive necessary to help the nation change. France only became worse which lead to the French Revolution in 1789. King Louis died on May 10, 1774 in his bedroom at the Palace of Versailles. In his final days, he was comforted by his second and final mistress, Jeanne Bécu, countess du Barry. Louis XV's grandson, Louis XIV, became king as his father, Louis dauphin de France, died in 1765. He married Marie Antoinette when she was just fourteen and they both tried to rule through the French Revolution caused by the late King Louis XV. ======