On this day, Louis XV writes to the Duke of Parma:
“My very dear grandson, I am replying today to two of your letters, the one from 26 April and the one from the third of this month. I had hoped that Spain would do better. I knew of their stinginess, but we should say no more about it. The Queen is well, the Dauphine is better, but your cousin hit her head this morning. She was bled from the foot immediately, so I hope there will be no ill consequences. Myself, I am having difficulty getting entirely rid of my cold. Otherwise, I am very well and I embrace you tenderly my dear grandson. Louis.”
Commentary:
In a previous letter dated 14 April (please visit the archive to read the post from that day), the King expressed the hope that Spain would give Ferdinand of Parma a pension because he is an Infante of Spain as a male-line grandson of Philip V. It seems that the pension has been denied.
Pictured: Philip V of Spain (1685-1746), né Duc d’Anjou, paternal grandfather of Ferdinand of Parma.
The female cousin — the original says cousine — must be either Madame Clothilde or Madame Élisabeth. They are the daughters of the late Dauphin and therefore Ferdinand’s first cousins, his late mother having been the Dauphin’s eldest sister. Madame Clothilde was born in 1759 and Madame Élisabeth in 1764. Given that the latter is only 2 years old, we hope that it was Clothilde who hit her head.
Pictured: Élisabeth de France (1764-1794) at the age of around 4.
If you have questions that I have not addressed in the commentary, please ask in the comments.
Thank you for share my canadian friend! enjoy this sunday!