On May 10, 1774, Louis XV ended his absurd and reviled life in a secret ceremony.
Having just ascended to the throne of the king, he had gathered thousands of favors in one, but when he died, he was so miserable and sad that the funeral was attended by only one minister, and the body was soaked in quicklime under the pouring of alcohol.
What is it that makes this once French "darling Louis" become the most popular fallen king in the future?
Pampered Miracle Boy
At the beginning of the 18th century, medical care was limited, and the French royal family suffered heavy losses due to a smallpox.
Louis XV's parents both died in that disaster, and his brother was bleedn to death by the doctors.
He was only 2 years old at that time, but miraculously survived, and naturally became the only crown prince.
On August 26, 1715, Louis XIV, who called himself the "Sun King", sensing that the limit was approaching, pulled his only remaining great-grandson, Louis XV, to his side and admonished:
"I love war too much, you must not imitate me, and do not be too extravagant and wasteful."
Six days later, the old king, who had fought countless battles all his life, made great achievements, and survived the death of his sons and grandsons for generations, died.
Louis XV, then 5 years old, ascended to the throne of the Bourbon dynasty.
The death of his grandfather made him a king, and he also left a mess that was unbearable for him.
With years of conquest and the profligacy of the nobility, the financial deficit of France at that time was almost on the verge of collapse, the price of goods rose rapidly, and the people lived in deep trouble.
At that time a bishop named Felenon wrote to Louis XIV:
"Your people are dying of hunger, and the whole of France is undoubtedly incomparably desolate, and there is nothing to ask for."
Louis XV, who had just ascended to the throne, was too young to be regent by his cousin Philip, and under Philip's blind manipulation, France became more and more mired.
Philip the Regent
In such cases,
The people were eager to hope that the little king would have saved them from the fire and water, and his every move was greatly concerned by the people.
When he was young, Louis XV was in poor health and often fell ill
Every illness is a rare blessing for all peoples.
In 1721, Louis XV fell ill, and as soon as the news came out, many people speculated that it was caused by Philip's poisoning, and then Louis XV became ill, and fireworks were set off everywhere in the streets, singing thanksgiving hymns, and even holding up his portrait to sing and dance.
After that, there have been many times when such things have happened.
Once Louis XV had a rash on his face, the people were afraid that he had a serious illness, and as soon as he recovered, the street resounded with "Thanksgiving Praise", because the celebration was too warm, the police had to always beware of accidents.
Because it was so popular and expected by the people, Louis XV was once called "the darling Louis".
However, such a love only appeared in the early days of Louis XV's career.
In 1744, an event broke out that led him to the opposite side of the French.
So much so that the French astronomer Messier once said in his memoirs,
"Now even if he dies, he will not earn a tear from the people."
A wandering king who lacks love all his life
Combing through Louis XV's 59 years as king, he was actually pro-government when he was 33 years old.
When he first ascended to the throne, he always had to listen to his uncle Philip, and in 1726, Louis XV, who was supposed to be the protégé, invited his former governess, Fleury, to be the regent.
Until 1743, Louis XV, still indulged in playing with women all day, when the French people thought that this little Louis was a person
"Only hunting, not fighting"
。
In 1744, there was a war of the austrian succession, and Louis XV personally went to war, which made his prestige reach its peak.
However, what would have been a good thing, Louis XV foolishly took his mistress Madame Châteauroux with him on the expedition, causing great resentment among the people.
Bishop Fitz-James demanded that Louis XV publicly expel Madame de Châteauroux,
Unexpectedly, as soon as the expedition was over, Louis XV recalled Madame de Châteauroux to continue to be his mistress, which also led to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the French and their king.
Louis XV was reviled by later generations, in fact, the main reason is that he had countless mistresses in his life, absurd, and only cared about living happily with his mistress, without the slightest regard for the suffering of the people.
In his lifetime, if you count down, even if you use your hands and feet together, you can't count how many mistresses he has.
His first mistress was a woman named Madame Demelie, and it was this woman who stimulated Louis XV from a purely affectionate little man to a wandering old king.
And what's even more bloody is that
Madame DeMelie did not last long as Louis XV's mistress, and staged a palace fight with her own sister who was close to 5 sisters.
Louis XV, who was indifferent by nature, sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and indifferently watched the 5 sisters fight each other for favors.
Still
At first, Madame DeMelie went to see Louis XV once and took her second sister Madame Demele, and louis XV became deeply fascinated by her as soon as she saw this woman.
And this second sister is also fierce enough, bent on replacing her sister,
So much so that louis XV later said a word to Madame Demelie,
"I'm tired of you"
Without saying a word, she was expelled from versailles.
But the second sister's red face and thin life, ah, within a year because of difficult childbirth died, at this time the third sister Lady Tunale made up for the throne,
These three means are higher.
At first, he said that he would not agree to be louis xv's mistress, but under the soft and hard bubble of louis fifteen, he agreed, but he made a lot of demands, such as making her a duchess, giving his illegitimate son legal status, and giving him high maintenance.
She also demanded that her eldest sister be exiled from Paris.
In a word, it's amazing.
However, the third sister was not favored for a long time, and then the fourth sister and the fifth sister took turns to play, completely letting the three sisters stand aside.
For Louis XV, in his history of affair, the plot of these 5 sisters is just too absurd to be talked about, but in fact, these people are not the most famous of his lovers.
Louis XV's most famous lovers also had 4 more.
One was called Madame de Pompadour.
She was also the only lover of Louis XV who had been favored for 20 years, but Madame de Pompadour was forced to reduce the number of love affairs with Louis XV due to three miscarriages in 5 years, which seriously affected her health.
Louis XV specially built a "deer garden" to meet women aged 15-25 and enrich his harem, and later Louis XV had a large number of lovers from this.
The second one was called Madame Dubaly.
This is a fierce character, compared to Madame de Pompadour, this woman is narrow-minded, no one can share her king with her, in order to favor her, Louis XV later closed the "deer court".
The third was named Mary Louise O'Murphy.
She once worried that Madame de Pompadour was out of favor, and later married a noble gentleman with a pension of up to 200,000 livres, a generous dowry, a fancy dress and jewelry.
The fourth was Margaret Catherine Hennot.
This was a woman whom Louis XV called "an incomparable beauty", all her children were crowned aristocrats, and the pension was as high as 220,000 livres.
According to the calculations of some historians, the little lover who lived in the deer garden was between 40-50 people, and most of these people later found other nobles to be the receivers, and the funny thing is that at that time, being the receiver for the king was actually regarded as a supremely glorious thing...
Louis XV once famously said,
"Even after I die a terrible flood",
This is also a portrayal of his life.
Nowadays, Louis XV is regarded by many as a faint and absurd monarch, but in fact, behind these fogs, this is a very sad person.
Imagine a 2-year-old parents died, 3 years old was raised, 5 years old to the throne, 11 years old was arranged to be engaged to a 3-year-old cousin, 13 years old began to deal with political affairs, has been raised in the deep palace, has been arranged, from childhood lack of love of life is what kind of background?
Therefore, Louis XV has always preferred the innocent and intelligent commoner girls outside the court,
Compared with those ambitious court ladies, these commoner girls could at least give him a little real affection, at least let him relax a little under pressure.
Unfortunately, the end of the Bourbon dynasty has been hidden as early as the time of Louis XIV, louis xv.'s absurdity and fainting have accelerated the decline of the dynasty, and his grandson Louis XVI has become a "pot bearer" and has been sent to the guillotine.