Louis XV
His Majesty The King Louis de France
When Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715, Louis, at the age of five, inherited the throne. Louis XV's father was next in line for the throne but died of smallpox in 1711. His mother and his father's brother both died in 1712 of measles, and Louis and his older brother were found to have the same disease a month later. Louis' older brother died, but Louis himself lived because his governess would not allow the doctors to bleed him further, as was a common treatment.
Louis became king in 1715, but would not come of age (thirteen) until 1722, so a regent ruled in his place. Philippe II became regent, although Louis XIV and XV disliked him and his 'atheistic' views.
In 1719, France, in alliance with Britain and the Dutch Republic, declared war on Spain. Spain was defeated on both land and sea, and quickly sought peace. A French-Spanish treaty was signed March 1721. The two governments proposed to unite their royal families by marrying Louis to Mariana Victoria of Spain, the seven-year-old daughter of Philip V of Spain , who was himself grandson of Louis XIV. The marriage contract was signed on 25 November, and the future bride came to France and took up residence in the Louvre. However, the Regent decided she was too young to have children soon enough, and she was sent back to Spain. During the rest of Regency France was at peace, and in 1720, the Regent decreed an official silence on religious conflicts.
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