Louis, Grand Dauphin

Louis
Dauphin of France
Louis de France by an unknown artist
Spouse Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
Marie Émilie de Joly de Choin
Issue
Louis, Dauphin of France
Philip V, King of Spain
Charles, Duke of Berry
Full name
Louis de France
House House of Bourbon
Father Louis XIV of France
Mother Maria Theresa of Austria
Born 1 November 1661(1661-11-01)
Château de Fontainebleau, France
Died 14 April 1711(1711-04-14) (aged 49)
Château de Meudon, France
Burial 28 April 1711
Royal Basilica of Saint Denis, Saint Denis, France

Louis de France[1] (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711) was the eldest son and heir of Louis XIV, King of France and of his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. As the heir apparent to the French throne, he was styled as the Dauphin. He became known as Le Grand Dauphin after the birth of his own son, Le Petit Dauphin.

Contents

Biography

Louis de France was born at the Château de Fontainebleau, the eldest son of the King and Queen of France and Navarre; he was later baptised at the chapel of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and was given his fathers name. As a Fils de France (Son of France) he was entitled to the style of Royal Highness and was the most important man in the kingdom directly after his father.

He was baptised on 24 March 1668 by proxy by the Cardinal de Vendôme and the Princess of Conti for Pope Clement IX and Queen Henrietta Maria of England. The latter was Louis' own aunt.

When Louis reached the age of seven, he was removed from the care of women and placed in the society of men. He received Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier as his governor and was tutored by Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux, the great French preacher and orator. Despite many indications and reports of intelligence, Louis was perceived as lazy and indolent:

Louis XIV secretly nursed the same suspicious jealousy of the Grand Dauphin that Louis XIII had once shown to himself. No prince could have been less deserving of such feelings. Monseigneur, as the heir to the throne was now known, had inherited his mother's docility and low intelligence. All his life he remained petrified with admiration of his formidable father and stood in fear of him even while lavish proofs of 'affection' were showered upon him. The best way for Monseigneur to do someone an injury was to commend him to the royal favour. He knew it, and did not conceal it from his rare petitioners.
Louis XIV saw to it that his son's upbringing was quite the opposite of his own. Instead of a devoted mother and an affectionate and likeable tutor, the Dauphin had the repellent and misanthropic Duc de Montausier, who ruthlessly applied the same methods that had so disturbed Louis XIII. They annihilated his grandson.
[...]Bossuet overwhelmed his backward pupil with such splendid lessons that the Dauphin developed a lasting horror of books, learning and history. By the age of eighteen, Monseigneur had assimilated almost none of the knowledge amassed to so little purpose, and the apathy of his mind was second only to that of his senses.[2]

It was said that, when an adult, Louis could pass a whole day simply tapping his cane against his foot in an armchair. Nonetheless, Louis' generosity, affability and liberality gave him great popularity in Paris and with the French people in general. Louis was one of six legitimate children of his parents. The others all died in early childhood; the longest-lived, Marie Thérèse of France, died at the age of five when Louis was 11.

Prior to his engagement, his father had considered various daughters of European royals such as Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici as well as well as his niece Marie Louise d'Orléans daughter of Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans and his wife Princess Henrietta of England. Marie Louise and Louis according to various sources were in love, having grown up with each other. However, Louis used Marie Louise to forge a link with Spain and forced her to marry the invalid Charles II of Spain, Louis' own half uncle.

Despite this, Louis had been engaged to his second cousin, Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria since he had been seven; Maria Anna Victoria was a year older than Louis and, upon arriving at the French court, was described as being very unattractive; she was a very cultured princess and was the daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy.

Prior to the marriage to Louis, she had a proxy ceremony in Munich on 28 January 1680; the couple would meet for the first time on 7 March 1680 in Châlons-sur-Marne.

Political and military role

Although he was permitted at first to attend and later to participate in the Conseil d'en haut, he did not play a particularly important part in French politics. However, as the heir to the throne and, presumably, future king, Louis was constantly surrounded by cabals battling for future prominence. Apart from the minor political role he played during his father's reign, Louis engaged in more leisurely pursuits and was esteemed for his magnificent collection of art at Versailles and his private establishment at Meudon. Louis XIV purchased Meudon from the widow of Louvois. A brilliant period followed. The Dauphin employed Jules Hardouin Mansart and the office of the Bâtiments du Roi, but most particularly his long-term "house designer" Jean Bérain head of the Menus Plaisirs, to provide new decors

He lived quietly at Meudon for the remainder of his life surrounded by his two half sisters Marie Anne de Bourbon, whom he adored, and the Princess of Condé who he also loved dearly. These three made up the main part of the Cabal de Meudon which opposed the Dauphins son, Louis and his Savoyard wife the Duchess of Burgundy.

Louis is said to have hunted wolves to extinction in the Île-de-France.

During the War of the Grand Alliance, he was sent in 1688 to the Rhineland front. Before leaving the court, Louis was thus instructed by his father:

"In sending you to command my army, I am giving you an opportunity to make known your merit; go and show it to all Europe, so that when I come to die it will not be noticed that the King is dead."

There Louis succeeded, under the tutelage of Marshal de Duras and Vauban, in taking one of the bridgeheads across the Rhine, Philippsburg, which was surrounded by marshes. Louis' courage was shown when he visited the soldiers in the inundated trenches under heavy fire to observe the progress of the siege.[3] Montausier, his former governor, wrote to him thus:

"I shall not compliment you on the taking of Philippsburg; you had a good army, bombs, cannons and Vauban. I shall not compliment you because you are brave. That virtue is hereditary. But I rejoice with you that you have been liberal, generous, humane, and have recognised the services of those who did well."[4]

The Grand Dauphin

Louis' capture of Philippsburg prevented the large gathering Imperial army from crossing the Rhine and invading Alsace.

Louis' position in the Conseil d'en haut gave him an opportunity to have his voice heard in the years and crises leading up to the War of the Spanish Succession. From his mother, Louis had rights and claims to the Spanish throne. His uncle Charles II of Spain had produced no descendants and, as he lay dying, had no heir to whom he could pass the throne. The choice of a successor was essentially split between the French and Austrian claimants. In order to improve the chances of a Bourbon succession, Louis gave up his rights in favour of his second son, Philippe, duc d'Anjou (later Philip V of Spain), who, as second son, was not expected to succeed to the French throne, thus keeping France and Spain separate. Moreover, in the discussions in the Conseil d'en haut regarding the French response to Charles II's last will and testament, which did indeed leave all Spanish possessions to Anjou, Louis persuasively argued for acceptance. He opposed those who advocated a rejection of the will and the adherence to the Partition Treaty signed with William III of England, even though that Treaty had awarded Naples, Sicily and Tuscany to him.

Louis died of smallpox on 11 April 1711, at the age of 49, predeceasing his father.

Marriages and issue

Louis married Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria on 7 March 1680. A possible bride was the Italian Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, niece of la Grande Mademoiselle. The Medici bride refused; thus Louis married his first cousin Maria Anna, known in France as Dauphine Marie Anne Victoire. The couple had three sons.

Legend has it that a prophecy told at his birth said that he would be "son of a king, father of a king, but never a king". This was thought to be fulfilled as he was the son of Louis XIV of France and father of Philip V of Spain (who however prevailed in his claim only after his father's death) but did not himself become King.

Legacy

Issue

House of Bourbon
Grand Royal Coat of Arms of France.svg
Children of Louis XIV
Louis, Le Grand Dauphin
Princess Anne Élisabeth
Princess Marie Anne
Princess Marie Thérèse
Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou
Louis François, Duke of Anjou

Thus, through Burgundy and Anjou, Louis ensured the continuation of the senior Bourbon line on the throne of France and the establishment of the cadet Spanish Bourbon dynasty respectively.

Louis, on the death of his wife Maria Anna, secretly married Marie Emilie Thérèse de Joly de Choin. However, his new wife did not acquire the status of "Dauphine", and the marriage was without issue.

He had two illegitimate daughters with Françoise Pitel:

With another mistress, Marie Anne Caumont de La Force, he had one daughter:

Ancestry

Louis' paternal grandparents were Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria; he was descended, on his mother's side, from Philip IV of Spain and Élisabeth of France. Louis XIII and Élisabeth de Bourbon were siblings (the children of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici), as were Anne of Austria and Philip IV, who were the children of Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. That means that he had only four great grandparents instead of the usual eight, and that his parents had the same coefficient of coancestry (1/8) as if they were half-siblings.

Ancestors of Louis, Grand Dauphin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Antoine of Navarre
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Henry IV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Jeanne III of Navarre
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Louis XIII of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Marie de' Medici
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Archduchess Joanna of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Louis XIV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Philip II of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Philip III of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Anne of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Anne of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. Charles II of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Margaret of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Maria Anna of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Louis de France, Le Grand Dauphin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. = 20. Philip II of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. = 10. Philip III of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. = 21. Anne of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Philip IV of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. = 22. Charles II of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. = 11. Margaret of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. = 23. Maria Anna of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Maria Theresa of Spain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. = 16. Antoine of Navarre
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. = 8. Henry IV of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. = 17. Jeanne III of Navarre
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Elisabeth of France
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. = 18. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. = 9. Marie de' Medici
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. = 19. Johanna of Austria
 
 
 
 
 
 

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

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), 479.
  2. ↑ Erlanger, Philippe, Louis XIV, translated from the French by Stephen Cox, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1970, p. 177. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-109471
  3. ↑ Dunlop, Ian, Louis XIV, Pimlico London, 2001, p.309
  4. ↑ Dunlop, 309.

Sources

See also