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Louis, Dauphin of France (1682–1712)
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| House of Bourbon |
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| Henri IV |
| Sister |
| Catherine, duchesse de Lorraine |
| Children |
| Louis XIII |
| Elisabeth, Queen of Spain |
| Christine Marie, Duchess of Savoy |
| Nicholas Henri, duc d'Orléans |
| Gaston, duc d'Orléans |
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Henriette-Marie, Queen of England
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| Louis XIII |
| Children |
| Louis XIV |
| Philippe, duc d'Orléans |
| Louis XIV |
| Children |
| Louis, Dauphin |
| Anne-Élisabeth |
| Marie-Anne |
| Marie-Therèse |
| Philippe-Charles, duc d'Anjou |
| Louis-François, duc d'Anjou |
| Grandchildren |
| Louis, Dauphin |
| King Felipe V of Spain |
| Charles, duc de Berry |
| Great Grandchildren |
| Louis, Dauphin |
| Louis XV |
| Louis XV |
| Children |
| Louise-Elisabeth, duchesse de Parme |
| Madame Henriette |
| Louis, Dauphin |
| Madame Adélaïde |
| Madame Victoire |
| Madame Sophie |
| Madame Louise |
| Grandchildren |
| Marie Clotilde, Queen of Sardinia |
| Louis XVI |
| Louis XVIII |
| Charles X |
| Madame Élisabeth |
| Louis XVI |
| Children |
| Marie-Thérèse, duchesse d'Angouleme |
| Louis-Joseph, Dauphin |
| Louis XVII |
| Sophie-Beatrix |
| Louis XVII |
| Louis XVIII |
| Charles X |
| Children |
| Louis XIX |
| Charles, duc de Berry |
| Grandchildren |
| Henri V |
| Louise, duchesse de Parme |
| French monarchy, 843-1870 |
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Louis de France, duc de Bourgogne (August 16, 1682 - February 18, 1712) was the eldest son of Louis, le Grand Dauphin, and Maria Anna of Bavaria. As a result of his father's death in 1711, he became Dauphin and is hence also known, inaccurately, as le Petit Dauphin.
Birth
Born in the Château de Versailles, Bourgogne, as eldest son of the heir to the throne, was second in the line of succession to Louis XIV of France. Louis XIV and his wife, Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche, were his paternal grandparents. As a son of the Dauphin, Bourgogne was a Fils de France; and he received the title "duc de Bourgogne" from birth. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Adelaide Henriette of Savoy, daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy.
Life and political role
Bourgogne, reputedly a difficult child who respected no one, was turned, after much effort, into a very pious and religious man by his famous tutor Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, whose thoughts and beliefs would continue to influence the young prince throughout his life.
In 1702, at the age of 20, Bourgogne was admitted by Louis XIV to the Conseil d'en haut (High Council), which was in charge of State secrets regarding religion, diplomacy and war. This greatly delighted him because his father had only been admitted at the age of 30.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, Bourgogne was appointed to the command of the army in Flanders in 1708 with the experienced soldier Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme theoretically serving under him. The uncertainty as to which of the two should truly command the army led to delays and the need to refer decisions to Louis XIV. Continued indecision led to French inactivity as messages travelled between the front and the capital; the Allies were then able to take the initiative. The culmination of this was the Battle of Oudenarde where Bourgogne's mistaken choices and reluctance to support Vendôme led to a decisive defeat for the French. In the aftermath of the defeat, Bourgogne's hesitation to relieve the Siege of Lille doomed the city and allowed the Allies to make their first incursions onto French soil.
Bourgogne was influenced by the dévots and was surrounded by a circle of people known as the "Faction of Bourgogne". This was most notably made up of his old tutor Fénelon, his old governor Paul de Beauvilliers, duc de Saint-Aignan and his brother-in-law Charles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Chevreuse, as well as the famous author of historical memoirs, Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon.
These high-ranking aristocrats sought what they believed to be a return to a monarchy which was less absolute and which ruled with councils and intermediary organs of powers between the king and the people. These intermediary councils were to be made up of aristocrats (as opposed to the commoners from the bourgeoisie who were appointed by Louis XIV) who would assist the king in governance and the exercise of power. It was a utopian ideal of a non-centralised monarchy, with vast powers granted to the individual provinces, collaborating with or controlled by the aristocracy, which perceived itself as the representative of the people. Had Bourgogne succeeded to the throne, he would probably have applied this concept of monarchy.
After his father's death in 1711, Bourgogne succeeded him as Dauphin and become next in line to the throne. However, his wife Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy contracted measles and died on 12 February 1712. Bourgogne, who dearly loved his wife, had stayed by her side throughout the fatal illness and, as a result, had also contracted the disease. He did not last the week. Both their children also became infected, and their elder surviving son, Louis, duc de Bretagne, the latest in a series of Dauphins, succumbed to it within the month. However, Anjou, Bourgogne's youngest son, then only two years of age, survived the ordeal and would succeed as Louis XV of France upon the death of his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, in 1715.
The premature death of Bourgogne precipitated a possible succession crisis as he left as the heir to his seventy-four-year-old grandfather his frail infant son whose chances of survival were thought minimal. It also ruined the hopes of the "Faction of Bourgogne". Most of its members would soon follow him of natural deaths. Nonetheless, some of their ideas were put into practice during the Régence following the death of Louis XIV and in the minority of Louis XV. The Regent, Philippe II, duc d'Orléans, created a form of government known as polysynody, where each ministry was replaced by a council composed of aristocrats. However, the absenteeism, ineptitude and conflicts of the aristocrats caused this system of governance to fail, and it was soon abandoned in 1718 in favour of a return to the preceding style of rule.
Marriage and children
As part of the Treaty of Turin, which ended Franco-Savoyard conflicts during the Nine Years' War, Bourgogne was married, on December 7, 1697, to Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy (1685-1712). She was the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and his first wife Anne Marie d'Orléans. Marie-Adélaïde's maternal grandparents were Philippe I, duc d'Orléans and Henrietta Anne Stuart.
The couple had many children, of which:
Ancestry
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Ancestors of Louis of France, duke of Burgundy |
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