Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 - 10 May 1774 (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac)) was the King of France from 1715 until his death in 1774. (PROSE: A History of Humankind) Although he had a wife, he also had a mistress by the name of Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson and the pair got on well. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace)
Most historians believed that Louis XV damaged France's power and discredited the monarchy to the point that it led to the French Revolution just fifteen years after his death; he notably reduced France's power by giving away both New France and the Austrian Netherlands. (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
Biography
Born on 15 February 1710, Louis became King of France and Navarre in 1715 at the age of five, following the deaths of his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, and much of his immediate family. France was ruled in his name by a succession of regents until he was officially crowned in 1722. He moved to the Royal Court at Versailles in 1723, and married in 1725, before taking a series of mistresses, among them Madame de Châteauroux and Madame de Pompadour, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac, A History of Humankind)
He first met Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson at a masked ball in 1745 and she soon became his mistress. (PROSE: A History of Humankind)
In 1747, he provided the statue Mannikin Pis with its first clothes. (PROSE: Escape Velocity)
Chevalier d'Éon worked as a spy for Louis XV. (AUDIO: The Sword of the Chevalier)
He was dubious about the Tenth Doctor until the Doctor saved him from the Clockwork Droids' attack on the Palace of Versailles in 1758. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace) Also in 1758, Louis XV expelled Voltaire from the French court. (AUDIO: Masquerade)
When the Tenth Doctor arrived in France in April 1764, it was in time to see Reinette's hearse leaving Versailles for her grave. The King gave the Doctor a letter from his mistress. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace, PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac)
Louis died in on 10 May 1774. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac, A History of Humankind)
References
Count Carlos Scarlioni had several Louis XV chairs in his possession in 1979. (TV: City of Death) There was a Louis Quinze chaise longue in the Doctor's TARDIS. (PROSE: Special Occasions: 4. Playing with Toys)
In Paris, France before the French Revolution, the street Place de Louis Quinze was named after him. By July 1794 it was renamed Place de la Révolution. (PROSE: The Reign of Terror)
Behind the scenes
"Louis Quinze" or "Louis XV style" is the name of a rococo luxury furniture style named in honour of Louis.
