Louis Dieudonne
Son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, Louis is the fruit of multicultural political unions since his paternal grandparents Henri IV and Marie de Médicis were French and Italian. His maternal grandparents, Philip III and Margaret of Austria were Spanish and Austrian, although both Habsburgs were close relatives of each other[1]. Little Louis receives the title of first son of France and the more traditional title of Dauphin de Viennois. He is named Louis-Dieudonné because his coming into the world is considered a miracle. For twenty-three years the kingdom had waited in vain for his birth. His father and his mother no longer believed in it for a long time[2].
The birth of Louis was followed, two years later, by that of Philippe, first titled Duke of Anjou , then Duke of Orleans. It removes from the throne the brother of the reigning king, Gaston d'Orléans, an unrepentant plotter whose Cardinal de Richelieu, Prime Minister of Louis XIII, feared that he would lead, in the event of accession to the throne, a policy favorable to the nobles and the Habsburgs. . The long-awaited birth of a dolphin is thus a political victory for Richelieu.
On the death of his father, the child becomes king under the name of Louis XIV. As he was only five years old, his mother, Anne of Austria, became regent. Against all odds, she chose Cardinal Mazarin as Prime Minister, despite the disapproval of French political circles at the time, many of whom did not appreciate an Italian, loyal to Richelieu, leading France.
The king's education
In addition to his ministerial functions, Mazarin, godfather of Louis XIV, was assigned by the queen in March 1646 the responsibility for the education of the young monarch and his brother. He therefore became "superintendent of government and the conduct of the person of the king and that of the Duke of Anjou". Despite the efforts of the various tutors hired to provide lessons in Latin, history, mathematics, Italian and drawing, Louis was not a very hard-working student. But, following the example of the great art collector Mazarin, Louis XIV showed himself to be very sensitive to painting, architecture, music and above all dance, which at the time was an essential component of the education of a gentleman:young Louis is said to have practiced dancing for about two hours a day from the age of 7 to 27. He is also a great fan of hunting and tennis.
Louis, the "miracle"
In his childhood, Louis XIV escaped death several times:
* At the age of 5, he almost drowned in one of the ponds in the garden of the Palais-Royal. He is saved in extremis.
* At age 10, on November 10, 1647, he was stricken with smallpox. Ten days later, the doctors have no more hope but the young Louis recovers "miraculously".
* On June 30, 1658, the king suffered severe food poisoning during the capture of Bergues in the North. On Monday, July 8, he was given the last rites and began to prepare the succession, but Guénaut, Anne of Austria's doctor, gave him an emetic based on antimony and wine which once again healed "miraculously". the king.
The ordeal of the Fronde
After having celebrated his first communion at the Saint-Eustache church on December 25, 1649, Louis XIV, who was then only 12 years old, entered the council in 1650. This was the time of the Fronde, a challenge to authority. royal by the high nobility which was to leave a lasting mark on the monarch. From 1648, the Prince of Conti, brother of Condé, and a few others decided to overthrow Mazarin, who was blamed for his excessive taxes. In 1650, the princes were arrested and then released in 1651 following riots. The Fronde des Princes forced Mazarin into two short exiles in the space of a few months. On February 8, 1651, the queen and the young Louis tried to join him in exile, but the people invaded the Louvre Palace and prevented the royal family from leaving. In reaction to these events, Louis XIV later endeavored to continue the work begun by Richelieu:to weaken the members of the nobility of the sword by obliging them to serve as members of his court by transferring the reality of power to a very centralized and nobility of dress. On September 7, 1651, the bed of justice declares the majority of the king. All the greats of the kingdom come to pay homage to him except Condé who, from Guyenne, raises an army to mount on Paris. Louis XIV was officially crowned king on June 7, 1654 in Reims, but he left political affairs to Mazarin, while he continued his military training with Turenne.
His marriage to Maria Theresa of Austria
During the journey of the young king, on November 7, 1659, the Spaniards agreed to sign the Treaty of the Pyrenees which fixed the borders between France and Spain. For his part, Louis XIV accepts, willingly or unwillingly, to respect one of the clauses of the treaty:to marry the Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria (1638-1683), daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain, and Elisabeth of France. This marriage aims to bring France closer to Spain. It takes place on June 9, 1660 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
Louis has only known his wife for 3 days, she does not speak a word of French but the king "l 'honors' passionately and in front of witnesses from the wedding night.