Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 - 10 May 1774 (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"])) was the King of France from 1715 until his death in 1774. (PROSE: A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"]) 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 [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"])
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 [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"])
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 [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"], A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"])
He first met Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson at a masked ball in 1745 and she soon became his mistress. (PROSE: A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"])
In 1747, he provided the statue Mannikin Pis with its first clothes. (PROSE: Escape Velocity [+]Loading...["Escape Velocity (novel)"])
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 [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"]) Also in 1758, Louis XV expelled Voltaire from the French court. (AUDIO: Masquerade [+]Loading...["Masquerade (audio story)"])
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 [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"], PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"])
Louis died on 10 May 1774. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"], A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"])
References
Count Carlos Scarlioni had several Louis XV chairs in his possession in 1979. (TV: City of Death [+]Loading...["City of Death (TV story)"]) There was a Louis Quinze chaise longue in the Doctor's TARDIS. (PROSE: Special Occasions: 4. Playing with Toys [+]Loading...["Special Occasions: 4. Playing with Toys (short story)"])
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 [+]Loading...["The Reign of Terror (novelisation)"])
Behind the scenes
"Louis Quinze" or "Louis XV style" is the name of a rococo luxury furniture style named in honour of Louis. As alluded to in The Time Traveller's Almanac, Louis XV became King as a result of the deaths of, among others in his family, his paternal grandfather, his father, and two elder brothers whom died in childhood, all of whom predeceased his great-grandfather Louis XIV.
