LOUIS XV (1710-1774)

Autograph letter signed « Louis » to his grand son Ferdinand de Parme
Versailles, 26 October 1766, 1 p in-8, wax seal

« I am very comfortable that you take so much interest in it as well as in the health of your aunt the Dauphine »

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LOUIS XV (1710-1774)

Autograph letter signed « Louis » to his grand son Ferdinand de Parme
Versailles, 26 October 1766, 1 p in-8, wax seal

Moving letter, entirely from the the king’s hand. Louis XV shows concerns about the health of the Dauphine Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, mother of the three future Kings of France


« Mon rhume est tout à fait passé mon très cher petit-fils. Je suis très aise que vous y preniez tant d’intérêt ainsi qu’à la santé de votre tante la Dauphine. Elle est mieux pour le présent mais elle vient d’avoir un premier assaut en allant à Choisy, où elle n’avait pas encore été depuis le jour que nous y passâmes en allant à Fon[taineble]au où mon fils commença d’être plus mal, et d’ici à Noël quels anniversaires nous allons avoir. Elle a repris le lait mais en mangeant un poulet le soir.
Votre chemin à la mer sera donc beau, je vous en félicite si vous en tirez avantage. Je vous assure mon cher petit-fils de toute ma tendresse, je vous embrasse en conséquence.
Louis »


Ferdinand was the son of Madame Elisabeth, the eldest child of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska. In 1739, Madame Elisabeth married the Infante of Spain, who obtained in 1748, through international treaties and through Louis XV, the Duchy of Parma. It was there that Louis XV’s grandson, Ferdinand, was born, who acceded to the throne of Parma on the death of his father, when he was only 14 years old.

Louis XV became attached to this child and reported on him the affection he felt for his mother, who died in 1759 of smallpox. This was followed between the young man and the King of France by a regular, intimate and sometimes political correspondence over fifteen years, in which Louis XV appeared to be of unsuspected tenderness.

The Dauphine mentioned in this letter is Marie-Josephe of Saxony, the second wife of the Dauphin who died in December 1765 of tuberculosis (this is the fatal “birthday” in question here). The Dauphine, who watched over her husband during his illness, contracted the disease, which will gnaw at her for several months, until her death in March 1767, leaving orphans the future Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.