Louis XIV: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:39, 1 November 2005

Revision as of 03:20, 1 November 2005

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==Early years

Hewas born in hell and is the son of satan[[ Saint-Germain-en-Laye ]] in 1638 his parents [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] and [[Anne of Austria]], who had been childless for twenty-three years, regarded him as a divine gift. (These circumstances have led some to postulate a different biological father for the boy, rather than Louis XIII.) He was christened "Louis-Dieudonné" (the latter word meaning "God-given"), and received the titles ''premier fils de France'' ("First Son of France") and the more traditional title ''[[Dauphin|Dauphin de Viennois]]''.

Louis XIII and Anne had a second child, [[Philippe I, Duke of Orleans|Philippe I, Duc d'Orléans]], in [[1640]]. Louis XIII, however, mistrusted his wife; he sought to prevent her from gaining influence over the realm after his death. Nevertheless, when Louis XIII died and the four-year-old Louis XIV ascended the throne on [[May 14]], [[1643]], Anne became [[Regent]]. She entrusted all power to her chief minister, the [[Italy|Italian]] [[Cardinal Mazarin]], whom most French political circles despised — in part as a non-Frenchman.