Louis, dauphin de France

• Louis was buried in the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens. His heart was buried at Basilique Saint Denis, Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France

Louis-Ferdinand de France, dauphin de France (né le 4 septembre 1729 au château de Versailles – mort le 20 décembre 1765 au château de Fontainebleau) est l'aîné des fils du roi Louis XV de France et de Navarre, et de son épouse Marie Leszczyńska.

Sommaire

1 Une famille nombreuse...

2 Éducation princière

3 L'adultère royal

4 Vie de couple et politique

5 Le prince et son père

6 Une mère "résignée"

7 Une monarchie impopulaire

8 Ses enfants

9 Voir aussi

Une famille nombreuse... 

Son frère cadet, Philippe de France duc d'Anjou meurt dès 1733 à l'âge de 3 ans, suivi la même année par leur sœur aînée Louise-Marie, 5 ans. Le dauphin a également six autres sœurs Louise-Elisabeth et Henriette-Anne, jumelles nées en 1727, Adélaïde, née en 1732, Victoire (1733), Sophie-Philippine (1734), Thérèse-Félicité née en 1736 morte à Fontevrault en 1744, Louise-Marie, née en 1737. Seule, l'aînée de ses sœurs se mariera, les autres resteront à la cour, auprès de leurs mère et frère.

Éducation princière 

Son éducation fut confiée à Jean-François Boyer,évêque de Mirepoix, homme vertueux mais de caractère étroit. Il ne fut pas un élève très brillant. En revanche, s'il détestait l'activité physique, il devint, comme ses soeurs, un excellent musicien.[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire]

Seul fils survivant du couple royal, adulé par sa mère et ses sœurs[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire], il fut un enfant orgueilleux voire tyrannique mais très pieux, désirant ressembler à son grand ancêtre, fondateur de sa dynastie, Saint Louis[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire]. Très affecté par la séparation officieuse de ses parents, l'adultère du roi et la résignation doloriste de sa mère, il n'eut de cesse de ne pas ressembler à son père, sombrant très tôt dans une dévotion moralisante outrée.

L'adultère royal

Il a 7 ans quand le roi son père produit ouvertement à la cour sa première favorite, la comtesse de Mailly. Madame de Mailly est bientôt supplantée dans le lit du roi par sa sœur, la comtesse de Vintimille laquelle meurt en couches (1741). La sœur des deux précédentes, la marquise de La Tournelle (bientôt créée duchesse de Châteauroux) lui succède.

Il a 9 ans quand ses quatre plus jeunes sœurs quittent la cour pour l'abbaye de Fontevrault où elle doivent être éduquées à moindre frais.

Vie de couple et politique 

À l'âge de 10 ans, alors que sa sœur aînée, qui en a douze, épouse l'infant Philippe d'Espagne, il est fiancé à l'infante Marie-Thérèse qui en a 13. Ces mariages croisés doivent réconcilier les deux branches Bourbon qui se boudent depuis la rupture des fiançailles de Louis XV de France, père du Dauphin, avec Marie-Anne-Victoire d'Espagne, sœur de Marie-Thérèse et de Philippe (1725).

En 1744, Louis XV tombe malade à Metz. Avant de lui donner l'extrême onction, l'aumônier de la cour, François de Fitz-James, évêque de Soissons, exige le renvoi de la favorite ainsi qu'une confession publique. Entretemps, mené par son précepteur, le jeune Louis-Ferdinand, 14 ans, et donc apte à accéder au trône, est venu au chevet de son père ce que le roi, comprenant les manœuvres intrigantes du précepteur, trouve fort mauvais[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire]... L'humiliante confession publique que le roi se doit d'effectuer devant les Messins fait un très mauvais effet sur l'adolescent[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire].

L'année suivante, à l'âge de 15 ans, Louis épouse le 23 février 1745 au château de Versailles sa cousine (tante à la mode de Bretagne) l'infante d'Espagne Marie-Thérèse-Raphaëlle de Bourbon (deuxième fille de Philippe V). Les deux époux font front commun contre la nouvelle favorite, la Marquise de Pompadour. Cependant Marie-Thérèse meurt l'année suivante en donnant le jour à une petite fille qui ne vit que deux ans. Veuf à 17 ans, Louis-Ferdinand est très affecté par la mort de son épouse. Nonobstant, la raison d'État l'oblige à avoir des enfants mâles aptes à accéder au trône.

En pleine guerre de succession d'Autriche, il se remarie le 9 février 1747 à Versailles avec la fille du roi de Pologne, Marie-Josèphe de Saxe (1731-1767), qui lui donne huit enfants, dont cinq parviendront à l'âge adulte. Ce fut une lourde tâche pour l'adolescente car, toujours attaché à Marie-Thérèse, le Dauphin ne montre d'abord à la jeune princesse allemande de 16 ans que froideur voire mépris. Mais Marie-Josèphe est une femme d'un esprit supérieur : peu à peu, soutenue par ses belle-sœurs, conseillée par son oncle, le maréchal de Saxe elle apprivoise son mari, modère ses excès de dévotion et de rigueur morale tout en étant elle-même très pieuse. Leur couple sera finalement très uni.

Le prince et son père

Son père ne fut jamais proche de lui bien qu'il l'aimât certainement : Louis XV avait une vie privée qui ne plaisait pas au Dauphin, ce qui éloigna le père et le fils pendant longtemps. Le Dauphin connut son baptême du feu aux côtés de son père à la bataille de Fontenoy (1745). Il fit preuve de courage voire d'enthousiasme mais 1]|recevant cependant de la bouche même du roi une belle leçon d'humanité propre à édifier le futur chef d'état: « le sang de nos ennemis est toujours le sang des hommes. La vraie gloire c'est de l'épargner. »}}.

À partir de 1757 (attentat de Damiens contre le roi au cours duquel Louis-Ferdinand et ses compagnons maîtrisèrent le régicide), il fut invité à participer aux séances du Conseil du Roi, où il se fit remarquer par ses positions cléricales.

C'était en outre un homme fort pieux, chaste, sobre et fidèle à son épouse, ce qui était rare à la cour. Préférant la méditation aux exercices physiques, il ne pratiquait pas la chasse, activité pourtant réservée aux seuls nobles et fut le premier Bourbon à être obèse (héritage de son grand-père maternel). Son sérieux le faisait passer pour pédant. D'aucuns cherchèrent à le diffamer lui prêtant maîtresses ou excès d'alcool.

Une mère "résignée" 

Très proche de sa mère, souffrant des adultères du roi, il était le centre du parti dévot, qui condamnait la politique et la vie privée du roi et ne se gênait pas pour montrer son mépris à la marquise de Pompadour, qui, elle, soutenait le parti des philosophes. Ses sœurs et lui-même avaient surnommé la favorite Maman Putain[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire]. Il désapprouva l'expulsion des jésuites en 1764 mais soutenait son père contre les parlements.

En 1761, il perd son fils aîné, âgé de 10 ans, ce qui lui cause un immense chagrin mais il ne reporte pas son affection sur son fils suivant le duc de Berry, futur Louis XVI mais sur le cadet plus ouvert et spirituel[r%C3%A9f. nécessaire], le comte de Provence, futur Louis XVIII.

Une monarchie impopulaire 

Louis-Ferdinand meurt de tuberculose à 36 ans peu avant Noël 1765.Sa dépouille est inhumée dans la cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Sens. Sa femme, qui l'avait veillé pendant sa maladie, contracta son mal et le suivit deux ans plus tard dans la tombe.

François de Robespierre (père de Maximilien, futur Conventionnel) sembla s’indigner du manque de compassion de l’Ordre des avocats envers la famille royale. Le 3 décembre 1765, il écrivit cette lettre à son confrère et ami Baudelet : « Tous les cœurs, prenant leur essor vers le ciel font retentir les airs de leurs plaintifs accents; ils prient, ils conjurent, ils redemandent à grands cris le digne objet de leur amour... Les nôtres sont les seuls dont on n'entend pas les voix ! Je ne sais quoi a retenu jusqu'à présent leurs mouvements secrets... Une seule fois où il s'agit de donner au roi un gage pur, solennel et indispensable de notre attachement pour la famille royale, craindrons-nous par hasard qu'on pût dire que nous nous sommes assemblés ? Avocats, ce titre nous honore: sujets de la France, qualité mille fois plus glorieuse pour nous; ce n'est qu'en remplissant comme le plus glorieux de nos devoirs, d'une manière noble et peu commune, que nous prouverons véritablement la noblesse de notre profession et que nous maintiendrons sous l'asile du trône, la liberté et l'indépendance ». (in G. Laurent "Annales historiques de la Révolution Française" 1929, p.72)

Le tombeau du couple delphinal fut profané en mars 1794 par les révolutionnaires, qui jetèrent le cadavre dans une fosse commune de la ville.

À la Restauration, sur ordre du roi Louis XVIII, fils du dauphin, et grâce à des témoins, on retrouva le corps et on le replaça dans la cathédrale le 8 décembre 1814.

Ses enfants

Marie-Thérèse, dite Madame (1746-1748) sans postérité

Marie Zéphirine, dite Madame(1750-1755) sans postérité

Louis, duc de Bourgogne (1751-1761) sans postérité

Louis-Xavier, duc d'Aquitaine (1753-1754) sans postérité

Louis-Auguste, duc de Berry (1754-1793), Dauphin en 1765, (futur Louis XVI de France) épouse en 1770 Marie-Antoinette d'Autriche (postérité éteinte à la première génération).

Louis-Stanislas, comte de Provence (1755-1824) (futur Louis XVIII de France) épouse en 1771 Marie-Joséphine de Savoie (sans postérité).

Charles-Philippe, comte d'Artois (1757-1836) (futur Charles X de France) épouse en 1773 Marie-Thérèse de Savoie (dont deux fils et une fille)

Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Madame (1759 – 1802) épouse en 1775 Charles-Emmanuel IV de Savoie, Roi de Sardaigne (sans postérité),déclarée "Vénérable"

Elisabeth Philippine, Madame (1764-1794) (sans alliance ni postérité).

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwik_Ferdynand_Burbon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_%281729-1765%29

Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)

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Louis-Ferdinand

Dauphin of Viennois

Louis-Ferdinand, Dauphin of France

Spouse Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain

Duchess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony

Issue

Louis XVI

Louis XVIII

Charles X

Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia

Princess Élisabeth

Father Louis XV

Mother Maria Leszczyńska

Born 4 August 1729(1729-08-04)

Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France

Died 20 December 1765 (aged 36)

Château de Fontainebleau, France

Louis-Ferdinand de France,[1][2] Dauphin of France (4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765) was the only son of King Louis XV of France and his wife, Queen Maria Leszczyńska, to reach adulthood. He had a younger brother who died before his third birthday. As the son of the king, Louis was a Fils de France. He was the father of three kings of France, Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.

Contents

[show]

   * 1 Early life and education

* 2 Marriages
o 2.1 Maria Teresa of Spain
o 2.2 Marie-Josèphe of Saxony
* 3 Issue
* 4 Personality
* 5 Later life and death
* 6 Ancestry
* 7 References
* 8 Further reading
* 9 External links
[edit] Early life and education

Louis-Ferdinand was born at the Palace of Versailles. The birth of an heir to the throne had long been awaited since the tragic decimation of the French royal family in the early 1710s (see Louis XV of France). When the fourth pregnancy of Marie Leszczyńska resulted in a son in 1729, there was popular rejoicing. In all the major cities of France there were fireworks (many memorialized in engravings).

At Rome and other European courts there were also celebrations, since Louis' birth ensured the French succession. As the heir apparent to the throne of France, he was given the traditional title of Dauphin of France.

According to the custom of the French royal family, Louis was baptised privately and without a name by Cardinal Armand de Rohan. On 27 April 1737 when he was seven years old the public ceremony of the other baptismal rites took place. It was at this point that he was given the name Louis-Ferdinand. His godparents were Louis, Duke of Orléans and the Dowager Duchess of Bourbon (widow of Louis III, Prince of Condé).

Louis-Ferdinand's governess was Madame de Ventadour who had previously served as his father's governess. When he was seven years old, the Duke of Châtillon was named his governor, the Count of Muy was named under-governor, and Jean-François Boyer, formerly bishop of Mirepoix, was named preceptor.

From an early age Louis-Ferdinand took a great interest in the military arts. He was bitterly disappointed when his father would not permit him to join the 1744 campaign in the War of the Austrian Succession. When his father became deathly ill with fever at Metz, Louis disobeyed orders and went to his bedside. This rash action, which could have resulted in the deaths of both Louis and his father, resulted in a permanent change in the relations between father and son. Up to this point Louis XV had doted on his son, but henceforth the relationship was more distant. He was very close to his three oldest sisters.

[edit] Marriages

[edit] Maria Teresa of Spain

In 1744 Louis XV negotiated a marriage between his fifteen year old son and the nineteen year old Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain, daughter of King Philip V of Spain and his Italian wife, Elisabeth of Parma, and first cousin of Louis XV. The marriage contract was signed 13 December 1744; the marriage was celebrated by proxy at Madrid 18 December 1744 and in person at Versailles 23 February 1745.

Masked Ball at Versailles for the wedding of Louis, Dauphin of France to Maria Teresa of Spain, 1745.

Louis and Maria Teresa were well matched and had a real affection for each other. They had one daughter:

   * Princess Marie Thérèse of France (19 July 1746 – 27 April 1748).

Three days after the birth of their daughter Louis' wife Maria Teresa died on 22 July 1746. Louis was only sixteen years old. He grieved intensely at the loss of his wife, but his responsibility to provide for the succession to the French crown necessitated that he marry again quickly.

In 1746 Louis received the Order of the Golden Fleece from his father-in-law King Philip V of Spain.[3]

[edit] Marie-Josèphe of Saxony

On 10 January 1747 Louis was married by proxy at Dresden to Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the fifteen year old younger daughter of Frederick Augustus II, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and his wife, Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. A second marriage ceremony took place in person at Versailles on 9 February 1747.

[edit] Issue

Name Portrait Lifespan Notes

Marie Zéphyrine de France

Madame Royale Marie Zéphirine de France par Nattier.jpg 26 August 1750 -

1 September 1755 Born at Versailles, she was known as Madame Royale at court; died at Versailles aged 5

Louis Joseph Xavier de France

Duke of Burgundy Louis Joseph Xavier of France, Duke of Burgundy.jpg 13 September 1751-

22 March 1761 Heir of the Dauphin, he died at Versailles at the age of nine much to the distress of his family;

Xavier Marie Joseph de France

Duke of Aquitaine Grand Royal Coat of Arms of France.svg 8 September 1753 –

22 February 1754 Born at the Palace of Versailles dying there aged five months;

Louis-Auguste de France

Duke of Berry

(future King Louis XVI of France)

Ludvig XVI av Frankrike porträtterad av AF Callet.jpg 23 August 1754 –

21 January 1793 Born at Versailles, was later husband of Marie Antoinette and King of France; had issue;

Louis Stanislas Xavier de France

Count of Provence

(future King Louis XVIII of France)

JoungLouisXVIII.jpg 17 November 1755 –

16 September 1824 Born at Versailles, he married Princess Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy and had no issue; later King of France;

Charles-Philippe de France

Count of Artois

(future King Charles X of France)

Charles X Roi de France et de Navarre.jpg 9 October 1757 –

6 November 1836 Born at Versailles, he married Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy and had issue; was later King of France;

Marie Adélaïde Clotilde Xavière de France

Madame Clotilde

Queen of Sardinia

Madameclotilde.jpg 23 September 1759 –

7 March 1802 Born at Versailles, she married the future Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia and had no issue;

Élisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène de France

Madame Élisabeth Madame-elisabeth-2.jpg 3 May 1764 –

10 May 1794 Born at Versailles, she never married and was executed during the French Revolution aged 30;

Maria Josepha also had a stillborn son in 1748 and again in 1749. A stillborn daughter in 1752; Stillborn son in 1756. She also miscarried a son in 1762.

Louis, Dauphin of France, in 1747.

[edit] Personality

Louis-Ferdinand was rather plump. He was well educated: a studious man, cultivated, and a lover of music, he preferred the pleasures of conversation to those of hunting, balls, or spectacles. With a keen sense of morality, he was very much committed to his wife, Marie-Josèphe, as she was to him.

Very devout, he was a fervent supporter of the Jesuits, like his mother and sisters, and was led by them to have a devotion to the Sacred Heart. He appeared in the eyes of his sisters as the ideal of the Christian prince, in sharp contrast with their father who was a notorious womanizer.

Louis, the Dauphin, in the uniform of Colonel General of the Dragoons, portrait by Alexander Roslin (ca.1765).

[edit] Later life and death

Kept away from government affairs by his father, Louis was at the center of the Dévots, a group of religiously-minded men who hoped to gain power when he succeeded to the throne.

Louis-Ferdinand died of consumption at Fontainebleau in 1765 at the age of thirty-six, while his father was still alive, thus never becoming king of France. His mother, Queen Marie Leszczyńska, and his maternal grandfather, the former king of Poland, Stanisław Leszczyński, Duke of Lorraine, also survived him. His eldest surviving son, Louis-Auguste, duc de Berry, became the new dauphin, ascending the throne as Louis XVI at the death of Louis XV, in May 1774.

Louis-Ferdinand was buried in the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens. His heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

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), 153.

2. ^ He is called simply Louis by the most reputed biographies (including the earliest ones by Proyart and Rozoir), the major genealogical works about the House of Bourbon (including Achaintre and Dussieux) and numerous engravings. Several modern works (e.g. Antonia Fraser, Marie Antoinette) and some websites call him Louis Ferdinand to distinguish him from his father and his two sons.
3. ^ Nicolas-Louis Achaintre, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de Bourbon (Paris: Mansut, 1825), II, 149. T. F. Boettger says he received it in 1739.
[edit] Further reading

   * Broglie, Emmanuel de, Le fils de Louis XV, Louis, dauphin de France, 1729-1765. Paris: E. Plon, 1877.

* Dechêne, Abel, Le dauphin, fils de Louis XV. Paris: Librairie du dauphin, 1931.
* Ducaud-Bourget, François. Louis, dauphin de France: le fils du Bien-Aimé. Paris: Conquistador, 1961.
* Hours, Bernard. La vertu et le secret: le dauphin, fils de Louis XV. Paris: Champion, 2006.
* Huertas, Monique de, Marie-Josèphe de Saxe: mère de nos trois derniers rois de France et de Madame Élisabeth, Paris: Pygmalion, 1995.
* Proyart, Liévin-Bonaventure. Vie du dauphin, père de Louis XVI, Lyon: Bruyset-Ponthus, 1788.
* Rozoir, Charles du, Le dauphin, fils de Louis XV et père de Louis XVI et de Louis XVIII, Paris: Eymery, 1815.
* Zieliński, Ryszard, Polka na francuskim tronie, Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1978.
[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)

   * De la Tour's pastels at the Musée l'Écuyer, Saint-Quentin, (in French) the pastel illustrated above described as a study for one of four portraits de la Tour made of the Dauphin (according to a letter of the Marquis de Marigny), of which the only known survivor, at the Louvre is dated 1748. The curators at the Musée l'Écuyer consider the study above to have served perhaps for the first of these portraits, that of 1745.

This page was last modified on 17 July 2010 at 21:54.

Louis, Dauphin of France (1729-1765)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Louis, Dauphin of France (Louis-Ferdinand de France [1]) (4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765), was the eldest and only surviving son of King Louis XV of France and his wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska. As the son of the king, he was a Fils de France. He was the father of three kings of France.

Birth and early life

Louis was born at the Palace of Versailles. The birth of an heir to the throne had long been awaited since the tragic decimation of the French royal family in the early 1710s (see Louis XV of France). When the fourth pregnancy of Marie Leszczyńska resulted in a son in 1729, there was popular rejoicing. In all the major cities of France there were fireworks (many memorialized in engravings). At Rome and other European courts there were also celebrations, since Louis' birth ensured the French succession. As the heir apparent to the throne of France, he was given the traditional title of Dauphin of France.

According to the custom of the French royal family, Louis was baptised privately and without a name by Cardinal Armand de Rohan. On April 27, 1737 when he was seven years old the public ceremony of the other baptismal rites took place. It was at this point that he was given the name Louis. His godparents were Louis, Duke of Orléans and the Dowager Duchess of Bourbon (widow of Louis III, Prince of Condé).

Louis' governess was Madame de Ventadour who had previously served as his father's governess. When he was seven years old, the Duke of Châtillon was named his governor, the Count of Muy was named under-governor, and Jean-François Boyer, formerly bishop of Mirepoix, was named preceptor.

From an early age Louis took a great interest in the military arts. He was bitterly disappointed when his father would not permit him to join the 1744 campaign in the War of the Austrian Succession. When his father became deathly ill with fever at Metz, Louis disobeyed orders and went to his bedside. This rash action, which could have resulted in the deaths of both Louis and his father, resulted in a permanent change in the relations between father and son. Up to this point Louis XV had doted on his son, but henceforth the relationship was more distant.

First marriage

In 1744 Louis XV negotiated a marriage between his fifteen year old son and the nineteen year old Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain, daughter of King Philip V of Spain and his Italian wife, Elisabeth of Parma. The marriage contract was signed December 13, 1744; the marriage was celebrated by proxy at Madrid December 18, 1744 and in person at Versailles February 23, 1745.

Louis and Maria Teresa were well matched and had a real affection for each other. They had one daughter:

Marie-Thérèse (19 July 1746 – 27 April 1748).

Three days after the birth of their daughter Louis' wife Maria Teresa died on July 22, 1746. Louis was only sixteen years old. He grieved intensely at the loss of his wife, but his responsibility to provide for the succession to the French crown necessitated that he marry again quickly.

In 1746 Louis received the Order of the Golden Fleece from his father-in-law King Philip V of Spain. [2]

[edit]Second marriage

On January 10, 1747 Louis was married by proxy at Dresden to Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, the fifteen year old younger daughter of Frederick Augustus II, Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and his wife, Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria. A second marriage ceremony took place in person at Versailles on February 9, 1747.

Louis and Marie-Josèphe had eight children:

Marie-Zéphyrine (26 August 1750–1 September 1755).

Louis, Duc de Bourgogne (13 September 1751–22 March 1761).

Xavier, Duc de Guyenne (8 September 1753–22 February 1754).

Louis-Auguste, Duc de Berry, the future king Louis XVI (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) (guillotined).

Louis-Stanislas, Comte de Provence, the future king Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824).

Charles-Philippe, Comte d'Artois, the future king Charles X (9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836).

Marie-Clotilde (23 September 1759 – 7 March 1802), married King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia, Prince of Piedmont.

Élisabeth-Philippine (3 May 1764 – 10 May 1794), known as Madame Élisabeth (guillotined).

Personality and political role

Louis was rather plump. He was well educated: a studious man, cultivated, and a lover of music, he preferred the pleasures of conversation to those of hunting, balls, or spectacles. With a keen sense of morality, he was very much committed to his wife, Marie-Josèphe, as she was to him. Very devout, he was a fervent supporter of the Jesuits, like his mother and sisters, and was led by them to have a devotion to the Sacred Heart. He appeared in the eyes of his sisters as the ideal of the Christian prince, in sharp contrast with their father who was a notorious womanizer.

Kept away from government affairs by his father, Louis was at the center of the Dévots, a group of religiously-minded men who hoped to gain power when he succeeded to the throne.

[edit]Death

Louis died of consumption at Fontainebleau in 1765 at the age of 36, while his father was still alive, thus never becoming king of France. His mother, Queen Marie Leszczyńska, and maternal grandfather, Stanisław Leszczyński, the Duke of Lorraine, also survived him. His eldest surviving son, Louis-Auguste, Duc de Berry, became the new dauphin, and later ascended the throne as Louis XVI at the death of Louis XV.

Louis was buried in the Cathedral of St Étienne in Sens. His heart was buried at the Basilica of Saint Denis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis,_Dauphin_of_France_(1729-1765)