25 July 1768

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

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

“My dear grandson,

I am replying today to your letters of the 9th and the 14th of this month, of which I received the latter before the former, given the way that they came to me. It is true that I was well warned of the misfortune that would befall me, but I was no less sensitive to it for that, and I cannot get accustomed to my new state. As for her, she is surely very fortunate. I still have nothing from Spain about that of which you seem to me to be very desirous. The heat has come to us, and it is excessive, which could bring us a storm. They are cutting as much wheat as they can. I am going with my daughters to sleep at Bellevue tonight, and tomorrow we are going to Compiègne until the end of next month. Your cousins will not join me until Thursday, but my family will leave me on 10 August for a day that will be terrible for them, especially for Mesdames. If it is so hot then, I do not know how they will bear it. I embrace you very cordially, my dear grandson.

Louis.”

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Commentary:

It is not explained how Ferdinand of Parma’s letters of 9 and 14 July came to the King, but we infer that it was not the usual way.

The misfortune that the King refers to is the death of Queen Marie. The state that he cannot get used to is presumably widowerhood.

The long-awaited news from Spain which both the King and Ferdinand are waiting for, and of which Ferdinand is “very desirous” can only be the final confirmation of his engagement to the Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria. The King of Spain is 18-year-old Ferdinand’s paternal uncle, and his approval is apparently required as head of the family.

Bellevue is one of the King’s many small châteaux within a day’s journey of Versailles. He used to spend a lot of time there with Mme de Pompadour. After his death, Louis XVI will make it over to Mesdames.

Pictured: The château of Bellevue as it appeared in Mme de Pompadour’s day. Credit — By Jacques Rigaud - Jacques Rigaud, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=589821

Mesdames are Louis XV’s surviving daughters. At this date, there are 4 of them although one is a Carmelite nun and no longer lives at court. The remaining 3 are Adélaïde, Victoire, and Sophie. It seems that Mesdames are going to attend one of the many ceremonies related to Queen Marie’s passing on 10 August, which is why that day will be “terrible,” and all the more so if the hot weather persists.

Ferdinand’s cousins who will be joining the King at Compiègne on Thursday are his first cousins, namely the surviving children of his mother’s brother, the late Dauphin (see glossary). The male cousins are the future Louis XVI, now Dauphin, the Comte de Provence, and the Comte d’Artois. They have 2 sisters, one of whom, currently Madame, is the future Queen of Sardinia. The other is Madame Elisabeth, who will share the miseries of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette and follow them to the guillotine.

Compiègne is the only royal residence north of Paris that is still in regular use at this date. Louis XV takes the whole court there every summer.

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The translation from the French is my own. Images that are not my own are in the public domain; I only explicitly credit them when the uploader has made it a condition of sharing his/her work via Wikimedia Commons. Words in italics in the body of the post or bold italics in verbatim translations and image captions are in the Glossary; the royal family and other Bourbons are in the Who’s Who; information about the sources is in the Bibliography; all of these are in the Resources section and freely available to paid subscribers and Grandes Entrées. If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

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