21 September 1766

From the Letters of Louis XV to the Infante Ferdinand of Parma

On this day, Louis XV writes to the Duke of Parma from Compiègne:

“My dear grandson, is it true that the Prince of Brunswick resembles your poor father? I would believe it well enough to judge by his portraits and by all that has been said of him to me. I still have a solid cold, but it has been getting better since I took some whey for 2 days and a bit of theriac in the evening. Summer has come back and yesterday I felt hotter during the hunt than I ever have this year. It will be good for the harvest. We are all leaving here during the course of this week. My next letter will be dated from Versailles. I embrace you tenderly my dear grandson. Louis.”

---

Commentary:

As mentioned previously, the court has stayed very late at Compiègne this year. It usually moves back to Versailles well before the end of August. 

Pictured: A view of the entrance court at Compiègne, my own photo taken in July, 2023.

Ferdinand of Parma evidently mentioned the Prince of Brunswick in a previous letter. The latter must have visited Parma if Ferdinand is in a position to say whether he resembles the late Infante Philip. 

Pictured: Charles William Ferdinand (1735-1806), Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel at this date, painted in 1767 by Batoni. He will succeed his father as ruler of the principality in 1780.

The Hereditary Prince and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel are on their Grand Tour. The princess is George III’s elder sister, Augusta of Great Britain & Ireland. They will be the parents of the future Queen Caroline, consort of George IV. To judge by the images above and below, there is in fact a certain resemblance between Louis XV’s son-in-law and the Brunswick prince. 

Pictured: Infante Don Philip of Spain (1720-1765), Duke of Parma, a portrait in the Nat’l Gallery in Parma, my own photo taken in May, 2024.

Theriac, or theriaca, is an ancient remedy of fermented herbs and other ingredients left to age for several years.

Pictured: A theriac pot from the Hospices de Beaune. The date is 1782. Credit — By Jebulon - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11459310

---

The translation from the French is my own, as it always is unless I credit someone else. If you have questions that I have not addressed in the commentary, please ask in the comments.

---