“After us there might be a flood”
Louis XV (French: Louis XV), official nickname: Beloved (1710 - 1774)
- King of France since September 1, 1715 from the Bourbon dynasty.
Childhood. Miraculously surviving heir
The great-grandson of Louis XIV, the future king (who bore the title Duke of Anjou from birth) was at first only fourth in line to the throne. However, in 1711, the boy’s grandfather, the only legitimate son of Louis XIV, the Grand Dauphin, died.
great-grandfather - King Louis XIV
grandfather - Louis le Grand Dauphin
At the beginning of 1712, Louis's parents, Duchess Marie Louise Adélaïde de Savoie (French Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie) (February 12) and Duke Louis (French Louis duc de Bourgogne) (February 18) died one after another from chickenpox. Burgundy, and then (March 8) and his older 4-year-old brother, the Duke of Breton.
mother - Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie
father - Louis duc de Bourgogne
Marriage of parents: Dauphine Louis of France and Marie Adelaide of Savoy
Two-year-old Louis himself survived only thanks to the persistence of his teacher, Duchess de Vantadour, who did not allow the doctors to use severe bloodletting on him, which killed his older brother. The death of his father and brother made the two-year-old Duke of Anjou the immediate heir of his great-grandfather, he received the title of Dauphin of Vienne.
In 1714, Louis's uncle, the Duke of Berry, died without leaving any heirs. It was expected that he would act as regent for his nephew, since his other uncle, Philip V of Spain, renounced his rights to the French throne in 1713 at the Treaty of Utrecht. The fate of the dynasty, which only a few years ago was numerous, depended on the survival of a single child. The little orphan was constantly watched and was not left alone for a minute. The concern and sympathy that he aroused played a certain role in his popularity in the first years of his reign.
paternal uncle - Charles of France, Duke of Berry (1686-1714)
maternal uncle - Portrait of Philip V of Spain uncle
From the age of six, Louis was given to be raised by Abbot Fleury, whom he loved dearly, like a father. The king studied diligently and knew a lot; He especially loved mathematics and geography. In addition to ordinary subjects, he was accustomed to state affairs: the regent forced him to attend important meetings and explained diplomatic affairs in detail.
Baptism
After the end of the war of the Quadruple Alliance, France and Spain decided to mark reconciliation with the engagement of Infanta Marianne Victoria and young Louis XV, but then the engagement was broken off, the bride was 7 and the groom was 15 years old...
Mariana Victoria of Spain (1718 - 1781)
Louis XV of France and Maria Anna Victoria of Spain, engagement terminated.
Louis XV leaves a Lit de Justice at the Sainte Chapelle, Paris
Since 1723, the king was considered an adult. But the young monarch did not want to engage in state affairs. And from 1726 to 1743, France was ruled by the elderly Cardinal de Fleury, who became first minister at the age of 70. This experienced politician managed to strengthen the country's financial position and promoted the development of industry and trade. After the death of Fleury (1743), Louis himself began to rule the state and difficult days came for the country...
André-Hercule de Fleury Cardinal Fleury, First Menister of France
On September 4, 1725, 15-year-old Louis married 22-year-old Maria Leszczynska (1703–1768), daughter of the former King of Poland Stanislaus.
Marie Catherine Sophie Felicité Leszczyńska 
They had 10 children (as well as one stillborn child), of whom 1 son and 6 daughters lived to adulthood. Only one, the eldest, of the daughters got married. The king's younger unmarried daughters took care of their orphaned nephews, the children of the Dauphin, and after the accession of the eldest of them, Louis XVI, to the throne, they were known as “Lady Aunts” (French: Mesdames les Tantes)
Maria Luisa with her son Ferdinand, future Duke of Parma
Twins Anna Henrietta and Maria Louise Elisabeth were born on August 14, 1727. Henrietta was born second, so they began to call her Madame Second. When she grew up, her loved ones began to call her Madame Henrietta.
Königin Maria Leszczyńska mit Sohn
Louis, Dauphin of France (1729-1765)
The first years of their marriage were cloudless. But having given birth to ten children from 1727 to 1737, Maria began to show fatigue and coldness towards the king. “What is this?” she said one day. “Still lying around, being pregnant, and constantly giving birth!” She began to refuse her husband to perform marital duties, became cold and very pious. The offended Louis gradually moved away from his wife.
After the death of Fleury (1743), Louis himself began to rule the state and difficult days came for the country. The king often showed indifference to business, devoting most of his time to feasts, hunting and love affairs. Louis had a whole “harem” of mistresses.
to be continued...
The Bourbon royal family is the oldest dynasty in Europe, the most powerful clan, the large branches of which have been intertwined for many centuries and continue to exist to this day.
The Bourbons are one of the branches of the Capetian family, which began to rule the French throne in 987. The Capetians owe their name to King Hugo I (987-996), nicknamed Capet because of the priest's robe (kapa) that he wore.
Ruling France for quite a long time, the Capetian family took over the most fertile and rich lands, but in 1328 everything changed - a representative of the Valois family ascended the throne, introducing the so-called “Salic law”, according to which women did not have the right to rule the state.
The result of these changes was the Hundred Years' War of 1337-1453. The kings of the Valois family did not stay on the throne for long, and only Henry of Navarre, having separated the Bourbon branch from the general family, became a reliable support for his country and ruled it for many years. Unlike his descendants, it was this king who earned the title “Great” and became known to our modern times as the hero of numerous adventure novels.
The history of the royal Bourbon dynasty on the French throne begins in 1589, with King Henry IV. Turning out to be a strong and reasonable ruler, he brought order to the state, saved the country from collapse and stopped all religious wars. Henry actively developed trade, boldly opening doors to overseas lands for France, thanks to which over time the state achieved prosperity and well-being.
However, despite the ideal management of the country, the king was unhappy in his family life. Disappointed in his first marriage, he did not marry for a long time, and only became a father in his early fifties - the king's second wife, Maria de' Medici, bore him five children, among whom was the long-awaited heir, Louis XIII.
In 1610, the people of France plunged into deep mourning - the wise Henry IV was killed. Little Louis XIII was only 9 years old at the time of his father’s death, he could not govern the state, and Louis’s mother, Queen Marie de’ Medici, took the reins of power into her own hands, and with her Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke de Richelieu, who became her mentor and right hand.
In fact, ruling France since 1624, Richelieu tried to achieve the absolute monarchy of the country, as a result of which the economic growth of the state increased sharply.
In 1635, he started a war that lasted thirteen years, resulting in improved relations with Western Europe. In 1642, Marie de Medici lost her mentor Richelieu, and a year later her son Louis XIII.
France has seen many rulers in its lifetime. Among them was Louis XVI, the last ruler of the Bourbon dynasty, who turned out to be a calm and kind king, which was unacceptable to people in power, so he soon tried to flee the country, but the attempt was unsuccessful and the king was executed on the scaffold.
Actually, this is where the Bourbon dynasty would have ended its existence if not for the Spanish branch of this family, the founder of which can be considered the Duke of Anjou.
Philip of Anjou (grandson of Louis XIV) - one of the strongest rulers, was crowned in Madrid. The king came to power in 1700 at the age of 17 as a kind, brave, courageous, and most importantly fair young man, but due to his young age he was still very inexperienced and absent-minded. Philip did not know how to express his thoughts correctly and forgot everything on the go. The king's main weakness was women; every time he abstained for a long time, he fell into terrible depression, thinking that his life was over. This resulted in Philip being strongly influenced by his wife Marie Louise, a powerful young woman who was always the center of attention and popular among the people. However, despite all his weaknesses, being an unbalanced person suffering from nervous breakdowns and mental disorders, Philippou was able to hold the reins of power for many years.
After his death, Ferdinand VI, the son of Philip of Anjou, began to rule Spain, who proved himself to be a talented and competent ruler. Madly in love with his wife Barbara Braganza, who at the age of 46 fell ill with smallpox and died, he could not come to terms with the loss and soon left after her.
The next ruler from the Bourbon family to ascend the Spanish throne was Charles III, the king who boosted the country's economy and income. This is one of the best rulers of Spain, but, unfortunately, with the same problem that his predecessors had - mental illness, which contributed to his death in 1788.
His son, King Carlos III, did not bring any benefit to the state. Over time, the “Salic law” was abolished and in 1833 Isabella III, an unusual and eccentric woman who accused her husband Francis de Asis of impotence and homosexuality, ascended the throne. The queen had many lovers, from whom she gave birth to 12 children, but Isabella’s kind and generous husband was involved in raising them until the end of his days. In 1878, the queen was overthrown and the throne was taken by her son Alphonse XII, who later died of tuberculosis.
After his death, the reign passed to Alfonso III, who tied the knot with Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg. This ruler was famous for his particular deafness and complete musical illiteracy, but this did not prevent him from becoming a good king for his country. After a while, he left Spain, handing over the reins of power to one of the most worthy monarchs of the entire Bourbon dynasty - Juan Carlos I de Bourbon.
Since 1975, wise and worthy of his throne, the king ruled Spain until June 18, 2014. After his abdication, his son Philip VI ascended the throne, who still rules the country.
Kingdom of Spain, France
BOURBONS (Les Bourbons), an old French ruling family that ruled in France (1589–1792, 1814–1815, 1815–1848), Naples and Sicily (1735–1806, 1815-1860), Parma (1731–1735, 1748–1802, 1847–1859), Etruria (1801–1807), Lucca (1815–1847); rules in Spain (1700–1808, 1814–1868, 1874–1931 and since 1975) and Luxembourg (since 1964).
The Bourbons are a junior branch of the Capetian dynasty. They descend from Robert, Count of Clermont (1256–1317), the sixth son of the French king Louis IX of Capet, who in 1272 married Beatrice from the house of Burgundy Capet, heir to the seigneury of Bourbon (Bourbonnais on the Haute-Loire in the Massif Central). In 1310 this seignory was inherited by their son Louis I the Great (1279–1342); in 1327 King Charles IV (1322–1328) raised it to the status of a duchy. From his sons Pierre I (1311–1356) and Jacques I (c. 1315–1361) came the senior and junior branches of the House of Bourbon.
Senior branch of the House of Bourbon (1311–1527)
Bourbonnais remained in the hands of the senior branch; it was successively owned by: Pierre I (in 1342–1356), his son Louis II (in 1356–1410), grandson Jean I (in 1410–1434), great-grandson Charles I (in 1434–1456), sons of Charles I Jean II ( in 1456–1488), Charles II (in 1488) and Pierre II (in 1488–1503). In 1400, the elder Bourbons acquired the counties of Beaujolais and Forêt, and in 1428, thanks to the marriage of Louis II with the Auvergne Dauphine Anne, part of Auvergne (Dauphine d'Auvergne). From Louis (d. 1486), the youngest son of Jean I, came the first, count, the Bourbon-Monpensier line.After the death of Pierre II, the senior branch died out at the male knee (1503), and its possessions passed to the Bourbon-Monpensier line in the person of Constable Charles, grandson of Louis (1490–1527), who married Pierre II's only daughter Suzanne (1491 -1521). However, after the death of Suzanne, by a court decision, the Duchy of Bourbon, the counties of Beaujolais and Forêt and Dauphine d'Auvergne were annexed to the royal domain in 1523. With the death of Charles (killed during the storming of Rome on May 9, 1527), the Bourbon-Monpensier line was also stopped.
Junior branch of the House of Bourbon (since 1315)
A younger branch held the County of Marche (west of Bourbonnais): Jacques I (1342–1361), his sons Pierre (1361–1362) and Jean II (1362–1393), Jean II's eldest son Jacques II (1393–1438). Thanks to the marriage of Jean II to Catherine de Vendôme, the younger Bourbons acquired the principality of La Roche-sur-Ion (the future Bourbon-Vendôme) and the county of Vendôme. Their youngest son Louis (c. 1376–1446) became the founder of the Bourbon-Vendôme line; after the death of his brother Jacques II in 1438, he became head of the junior branch. In 1446 he was succeeded by his son Jean III. After the death of Jean III in 1478, the County of Vendôme passed to his eldest son Francis (until 1495), and the principality of La Roche-sur-Ion to the younger Louis, who, due to the death of Charles de Montpensier in 1527, received as the husband of his elder sister Louise remnants of the possessions of the senior branch of the Bourbons and founded the second line of Bourbon-Montpensier (Dukes from 1539). This line in the male tribe ceased with the death in 1608 of Henri, grandson of Louis.
Francis de Vendôme's son Charles (1489–1537) was granted the title of Duke of Vendôme by King Francis I in 1515. His son Antoine (1518–1562) married Jeanne III d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, in 1549. Their son Henry (See also HENRY IV), after the death of his mother in 1572, became king of Navarre and inherited from her vast lands in the south of France - Duchy of Albret, counties of Armagnac, Foix, Rouergue, Bigord and Périgord With the assassination of King Henry III (1574–1589) and the suppression of the Valois dynasty (August 1, 1589), he, as the oldest surviving Capetian, took the French throne.
With Henry IV (1589–1610), the Bourbon-Vendome dynasty was established in France, which ruled the country intermittently until 1830. Henry IV was succeeded by his son Louis XIII (1610–1643), Louis XIII by his son Louis XIV (1643–1715), Louis XIV - his great-grandson Louis XV (1715-1774), Louis XV - his grandson Louis XVI (1774-1792).
The Great French Revolution (see GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION) overthrew the Bourbon dynasty (August 10, 1792); Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793, and his son Louis-Charles (born 1785), proclaimed by the emigrants as King Louis XVII (see LOUIS XVII), died in Temple Prison in 1795. With the fall of the empire of Napoleon I (see NAPOLEON I; NAPOLEONIC WARS) the Bourbon-Vendome dynasty was restored: the French throne was occupied by Louis XVI's brother Louis XVIII on May 3, 1814. During the Hundred Days, the Bourbons again lost power (March 19, 1815), but after the defeat of Napoleon I at Waterloo, Louis XVIII regained his crown (July 8, 1815). In 1824 he was succeeded by his younger brother Charles X (1757–1836), the last representative of the Bourbon-Vendôme dynasty on the throne of France, overthrown during the July Revolution of 1830 (abdicated on August 3, 1830). The only grandson of Charles X, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux (born 1820), became a contender for the throne, who took the name Henry V in 1843; in 1873, after the fall of the Second Empire (see NAPOLEON III), he rejected the proposal of the National Assembly to accept the French crown, not wanting to reign under the tricolor banner. With his death in 1883, the Bourbon-Vendôme branch came to an end.
Bourbon-Condé line (1530–1830)
Goes back to Louis I de Conde (1530–1569), the youngest son of Charles, first Duke of Vendôme, a major military leader and one of the leaders of the French Huguenots, who died in the battle of Jarnac. The title of Prince of Condé passed in his direct descendants from father to son - in 1569 to Henri I (born 1552), in 1588 to Henri II (born 1588), one of the leaders of the Regency Council under the young Louis XIV, in 1646 to Louis II (born 1621), the famous commander, nicknamed "The Great Condé", in 1686 to Henri Jules (born 1643), in 1709 to Louis III (born 1668), in 1719 to Louis Henri (born 1692), the first to the minister of King Louis XV, in 1740 to Louis Joseph (born 1736), commander of the army of emigrants during the French Revolution, in 1818 to Louis Henri Joseph (born 1756), after whose suicide in 1830 the Bourbon-Condé branch was cut short; his only son Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (born 1772), was executed by firing squad in 1804 on the orders of Napoleon I.
Two lateral branches branched off from Bourbon-Condé. Charles (1566–1612), the youngest son of Louis I de Condé, founded the Bourbon-Soissons line, which ended with the death of his son Louis (b. 1604), killed at the Battle of Marfa in 1641. Armand (1629–1666), younger brother The Great Conde, became the founder of the Bourbon-Conti line: in 1666 the title of Prince of Conti was inherited by his son Louis-Armand I (born 1661), and in 1685 by his other son Francois-Louis (born 1664), who in 1697 was elected to the throne The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, however, failed to hold on to it; after the death of François-Louis in 1709, the title passed to his son Louis-Armand II (born 1695), in 1727 to his grandson Louis-François (born 1717), and in 1776 to his great-grandson Louis-François-Joseph (born 1734) , with whose death in 1814 the Bourbon-Conti line was interrupted.
Bourbon-Orléans line (from 1660)
After the death of his uncle Gaston d'Orléans in 1660, Louis XIV passed on the title of Duke of Orléans to his younger brother Philippe (1640–1701), who became the founder of the Bourbon-Orléans line. With the death of Philip I, this title was inherited from father to son by Philip II (1674–1723), regent under the young Louis XV; Louis (1703–1752); Louis Philippe I (1725–1785); Louis Philippe II (1747–1793), a leading figure in the French Revolution who died during the Jacobin Terror; Louis Philippe III (1773–1850), who, as a result of the July Revolution of 1830, ascended the French throne as King Louis Philippe I (August 9, 1830). The rule of the Bourbon-Orleans dynasty in France lasted until the February Revolution of 1848, which overthrew the July Monarchy - on February 24, 1848, Louis Philippe I abdicated the throne. His descendants are Ferdinand-Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1810–1842), Louis-Philippe, Count of Paris (1838–1894), Philippe III, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926), Jean, Duke (1874–1940), Henri, Count Parisian (1908–) and Henri, Count of Clermont (born 1933) - continued and continue to lay claim to the French crown. In 1883, after the death of Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, the rights of the Bourbon-Vendôme line passed to the Bourbon-Orléans, and thus they found themselves at the head of the royal house of France.
Greetings to all lovers of the French language and French history! Today we will talk about French dynasties and their coats of arms.
How did the Merovingians turn Gaul into France? What did the kings of the Carolingian and Capetian dynasties give to France? How did the Valois continue the work of their predecessors? How did the Bourbon dynasty strengthen France's status among other world powers? What coats of arms accompanied kings throughout the history of France?
Stay with us, friends, and you will find out how the kings took care of their country, and what France was like under this or that dynasty.
The Merovingians can be called a legendary dynasty. Because stories about them are shrouded in secrets and interesting, fantastic stories. The Merovingians come from Frankish tribes, from their legendary ancestor Merovian. The main strength of these kings was their long hair. This was also their distinguishing feature. The Merovingians wore long hair, and, God forbid! – don’t cut them!
The Franks believed that the Merovingians had sacred magical power, which consisted of long hair and was expressed in “royal happiness,” which personified the well-being of the entire Frankish people. This hairstyle distinguished and separated the monarch from his subjects, who wore short haircuts, popular in the Roman era and considered a sign of low status. Cutting off hair was the gravest insult for the king of the Merovingian dynasty. In addition, this meant the loss of rights to wield power.
The first Merovingian kings ruled the state according to the model of the old Roman Empire. Under the rule of the descendants of Merovei, the kingdom of the Franks flourished. In many ways it can be compared to the high civilization of Byzantium. Mainly, secular literacy was more widespread under these kings than it would be five centuries later. Even the kings were literate, if we take into account the rude, uneducated and unlearned monarchs of the Middle Ages. King Clovis
Among the Merovingians, it is worth noting special attention to Clovis I. This king was distinguished not only by the severity of his rule, but also by the wisdom of his actions. He converted to Christianity and was baptized, and the rest of the Franks followed his example.
The French monarchy owes the Merovingian dynasty the Salic truth (the author of which, according to legend, is Merovey himself) - this was a set of laws by which the country was governed. One of the noteworthy points is that only men can rule the country. In the 14th century, when the question of transferring the throne of France to a woman arose, the Salic truth would be brought to light and pointed to the law of succession to the throne. Constable Gaucher de Chatillon will utter the famous phrase that will go down in history: “It is no good for lilies to spin!” Indeed, women never ruled in France (except perhaps temporarily, as a regent).
The Merovingians ruled for quite a long time - from 481 to 751, that is, from the end of the 5th to the middle of the 8th century.
The emblem or coat of arms of the Merovingians was the lily. In the distant 5th century, King Clovis, while still a pagan, and his army fell into a trap between the Rhine River and the Gothic army. A yellow marsh iris saved him from inevitable defeat. Clovis noticed that the thickets of yellow iris stretched almost to the opposite bank - and iris grows only in shallow water - and the king risked fording the river. He was victorious and, in gratitude for his salvation, made this golden iris his emblem. Later this image was transformed into a lily and became known as Fleur-de-lys. There is a version that the image of the lily is a variation of the bee depicted on the early Merovingian coat of arms. 
Royal lily
The last Merovingians unleashed their power on their majordomos (something like housekeepers). But we must give them credit - they knew how to choose wonderful majordomos! Here it is worth noting the glorious Charles Martel, who won a number of significant victories in battles with enemies, as well as Pepin the Short, who later became the king of the Franks. 
Pepin the Short
At a meeting of noble Franks in Soissons, Pepin asked them: who has the right to be king - the one who only nominally sits on the throne or the one who has real power in his hands? The Franks leaned towards Pepin. As you can see, everything is fair. The last Merovingian, Childeric III, was sent to a monastery, and Pepin became king. He united all of France, from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea (before that, under the Merovingians, it was divided into several territories). Pepin can rightfully be considered the founder of the new Carolingian dynasty.
The most iconic figure of this dynasty is considered Charlemagne or Charlemagne, who won a number of significant victories for the Frankish state and founded a vast empire that included the territories of France, Germany, and Italy. Charles not only fought, but also formed his country (see the Carolingian Renaissance on our website). Oriflamme - golden flame
Charles's son Louis the Pious still managed to keep the empire within its borders, but his grandchildren had already divided it and ruled separately.
The reign of the Carolingian dynasty was marked by the struggle against the Normans. The Normans were the northern Viking tribes. The Carolingians vigorously repelled their raids, now suffering defeat, now winning, until, finally, in the 9th century, King Charles III got tired of it all. Karl understands that he cannot simply get rid of the Normans unless he makes a final decision. He enters into an alliance with the Norman leader Rollon that they will stop their raids on France. In exchange for peace of mind, Charles had to marry his daughter to Rollo and give the northern territory to the Normans, which would later be called Normandy. What can you do? It’s politics.
The royal lily also predominated in the Carolingian coat of arms, but Charlemagne went on military campaigns with an oriflamme - a special banner with the image of a golden sun on a red field. It was a kind of standard, which was later present in the battles of other French kings.
Coat of arms of the Capetian dynasty Why? Yes, because the Valois and Bourbons are branches of the Capetian dynasty, they all descend from Hugo Capet, the founder of the dynasty.
Perhaps, it is the Capetian dynasty that has the brightest representatives of royal power in terms of intelligence, wisdom, talent for ruling and achievements. Here it is worth noting such kings as Hugo Capet himself, who began the development of Paris. Philip II Augustus, Louis IX the Saint, Philip III, Philip IV the Fair, who consolidated the state, annexed significant territories to France, strengthened power, and developed education and culture. It was under Philip II that France returned its territories, the provinces of Guyenne and Aquitaine, which, being on French territory, belonged to England.
The coat of arms of the Capetians were three golden Lilies on a blue field. We can say that it was under the Capetians that the lily was finally established as the coat of arms of France.
Unfortunately, the reign of the Valois dynasty began with the tragic pages of the Hundred Years' War. Edward III of England wrote a letter to the French king Philip VI (the first Valois king), in which he expressed his claims to the French throne, being the grandson of Philip IV the Fair. In addition, the English kings were haunted by Guyenne and Aquitaine, which once belonged to England. Of course, this outraged the King of France. No one was going to give up the throne to a stranger. Thus began the Hundred Years' War, the history of which turned into a real tragedy for France.
Unfortunately, France suffered defeat after defeat, and if it were not for Joan of Arc, it is unknown how it would have ended. 
Coat of arms of the Valois dynasty
It is worth saying a few words about King Charles V the Wise, who during the war managed to restore order in the country, managed to reduce taxes (this was during that terrible wartime!), collect and preserve the most powerful library for those times, and in general, normalize the situation in the state. In addition, he strengthened Paris by building the Bastille in it, and also introduced the official coat of arms of Paris. Glorious Charles V the Wise!
There are many worthy rulers in the Valois dynasty: Louis XI, who managed to restore order and develop France after the Hundred Years War; this is Francis I, who significantly increased the level of culture and science in the state.
The coat of arms of the kings of the Valois dynasty is the same lily, but not three, as under the Capetians, but many lilies dotting the blue field.
The Bourbon dynasty also descends from the Capetians and is related to the Valois dynasty. The first representative is King Henry IV or Henry the Great, whose actions went down in history. He stopped religious strife between Catholics and Protestants, significantly improved the lives of peasants, and carried out many necessary and useful reforms in the state. Unfortunately, good rulers are often killed, and that is what happened to this king. He was killed by the Catholic fanatic Ravaillac.
Among the Bourbons, Le Roi-Soleil stands out - Louis XIV, under whom France and the French monarchy reached their apogee in development and in brilliant standing out from other European powers.
Louis XVI or Louis the Last, a truly good king who was a true father to his people, ended his days on the guillotine, where he laid down his life for his country and people.
The Bourbon coat of arms is the same golden lilies, but on a white field (white is the color of the French monarchy), only everything is much more majestic than on the previous coats of arms of the kings. 
Coat of arms of the Bourbon dynasty
The French monarchy is long gone, but the golden royal lily has gone through all the vicissitudes of history and has been preserved on the coats of arms of many cities and provinces.
The content of the article
BOURBONS(Les Bourbons), Old French ruling family that ruled France (1589–1792, 1814–1815, 1815–1848), Naples and Sicily (1735–1806, 1815-1860), Parma (1731–1735, 1748–1802, 1847 –1859), Etruria (1801–1807), Lucca (1815–1847); rules in Spain (1700–1808, 1814–1868, 1874–1931 and since 1975) and Luxembourg (since 1964).
The Bourbons are a junior branch of the Capetian dynasty. They descend from Robert, Count of Clermont (1256–1317), the sixth son of the French king Louis IX of Capet, who in 1272 married Beatrice from the house of Burgundy Capet, heir to the seigneury of Bourbon (Bourbonnais on the Haute-Loire in the Massif Central). In 1310 this seignory was inherited by their son Louis I the Great (1279–1342); in 1327 King Charles IV (1322–1328) raised it to the status of a duchy. From his sons Pierre I (1311–1356) and Jacques I (c. 1315–1361) came the senior and junior branches of the House of Bourbon.
Bourbonnais remained in the hands of the senior branch; it was successively owned by: Pierre I (in 1342–1356), his son Louis II (in 1356–1410), grandson Jean I (in 1410–1434), great-grandson Charles I (in 1434–1456), sons of Charles I Jean II ( in 1456–1488), Charles II (in 1488) and Pierre II (in 1488–1503). In 1400, the elder Bourbons acquired the counties of Beaujolais and Forêt, and in 1428, thanks to the marriage of Louis II with the Auvergne Dauphine Anne, part of Auvergne (Dauphine d'Auvergne). From Louis (d. 1486), the youngest son of Jean I, came the first, count, the Bourbon-Monpensier line.After the death of Pierre II, the senior branch died out at the male knee (1503), and its possessions passed to the Bourbon-Monpensier line in the person of Constable Charles, grandson of Louis (1490–1527), who married Pierre II's only daughter Suzanne (1491 -1521). However, after the death of Suzanne, by a court decision, the Duchy of Bourbon, the counties of Beaujolais and Forêt and Dauphine d'Auvergne were annexed to the royal domain in 1523. With the death of Charles (killed during the storming of Rome on May 9, 1527), the Bourbon-Monpensier line was also stopped.
A younger branch held the County of Marche (west of Bourbonnais): Jacques I (1342–1361), his sons Pierre (1361–1362) and Jean II (1362–1393), Jean II's eldest son Jacques II (1393–1438). Thanks to the marriage of Jean II to Catherine de Vendôme, the younger Bourbons acquired the principality of La Roche-sur-Ion (the future Bourbon-Vendôme) and the county of Vendôme. Their youngest son Louis (c. 1376–1446) became the founder of the Bourbon-Vendôme line; after the death of his brother Jacques II in 1438, he became head of the junior branch. In 1446 he was succeeded by his son Jean III. After the death of Jean III in 1478, the County of Vendôme passed to his eldest son Francis (until 1495), and the principality of La Roche-sur-Ion to the younger Louis, who, due to the death of Charles de Montpensier in 1527, received as the husband of his elder sister Louise remnants of the possessions of the senior branch of the Bourbons and founded the second line of Bourbon-Montpensier (Dukes from 1539). This line in the male tribe ceased with the death in 1608 of Henri, grandson of Louis.
Francis de Vendôme's son Charles (1489–1537) was granted the title of Duke of Vendôme by King Francis I in 1515. His son Antoine (1518–1562) in 1549 married Jeanne III d'Albret, Queen of Navarre. Their son Henry () after the death of his mother in 1572 became the king of Navarre and inherited from her vast lands in the south of France - the Duchy of Albret, counties Armagnac, Foix, Rouergue, Bigord and Périgord With the assassination of King Henry III (1574–1589) and the suppression of the Valois dynasty (1 August 1589), he, as the oldest surviving Capetian, took the French throne.
With Henry IV (1589–1610), the Bourbon-Vendome dynasty was established in France, which ruled the country intermittently until 1830. Henry IV was succeeded by his son Louis XIII (1610–1643), Louis XIII by his son Louis XIV (1643–1715), Louis XIV - his great-grandson Louis XV (1715-1774), Louis XV - his grandson Louis XVI (1774-1792).
The French Revolution ( cm. GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION) overthrew the Bourbon dynasty (August 10, 1792); Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793, and his son Louis-Charles (b. 1785), proclaimed King Louis XVII by the emigrants ( cm. LOUIS XVII), died in the Temple prison in 1795. With the fall of the empire of Napoleon I ( cm. NAPOLEON I; NAPOLEONIC WARS) the Bourbon-Vendome dynasty was restored: the French throne was occupied by Louis XVI's brother Louis XVIII on May 3, 1814. During the Hundred Days, the Bourbons again lost power (March 19, 1815), but after the defeat of Napoleon I at Waterloo, Louis XVIII regained his crown (July 8, 1815). In 1824 he was succeeded by his younger brother Charles X (1757–1836), the last representative of the Bourbon-Vendôme dynasty on the throne of France, overthrown during the July Revolution of 1830 (abdicated on August 3, 1830). The only grandson of Charles X, Henri, Duke of Bordeaux (born 1820), became a contender for the throne, who took the name Henry V in 1843; in 1873, after the fall of the Second Empire ( cm. NAPOLEON III), he rejected the proposal of the National Assembly to accept the French crown, not wanting to reign under the tricolor banner. With his death in 1883, the Bourbon-Vendôme branch came to an end.
Goes back to Louis I de Conde (1530–1569), the youngest son of Charles, first Duke of Vendôme, a major military leader and one of the leaders of the French Huguenots, who died in the battle of Jarnac. The title of Prince of Condé passed in his direct descendants from father to son - in 1569 to Henri I (born 1552), in 1588 to Henri II (born 1588), one of the leaders of the Regency Council under the young Louis XIV, in 1646 to Louis II (born 1621), the famous commander, nicknamed "The Great Condé", in 1686 to Henri Jules (born 1643), in 1709 to Louis III (born 1668), in 1719 to Louis Henri (born 1692), the first to the minister of King Louis XV, in 1740 to Louis Joseph (born 1736), commander of the army of emigrants during the French Revolution, in 1818 to Louis Henri Joseph (born 1756), after whose suicide in 1830 the Bourbon-Condé branch was cut short; his only son Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (born 1772), was executed by firing squad in 1804 on the orders of Napoleon I.
Two lateral branches branched off from Bourbon-Condé. Charles (1566–1612), the youngest son of Louis I de Condé, founded the Bourbon-Soissons line, which ended with the death of his son Louis (b. 1604), killed at the Battle of Marfa in 1641. Armand (1629–1666), younger brother The Great Conde, became the founder of the Bourbon-Conti line: in 1666 the title of Prince of Conti was inherited by his son Louis-Armand I (born 1661), and in 1685 by his other son Francois-Louis (born 1664), who in 1697 was elected to the throne The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, however, failed to hold on to it; after the death of François-Louis in 1709, the title passed to his son Louis-Armand II (born 1695), in 1727 to his grandson Louis-François (born 1717), and in 1776 to his great-grandson Louis-François-Joseph (born 1734) , with whose death in 1814 the Bourbon-Conti line was interrupted.
After the death of his uncle Gaston d'Orléans in 1660, Louis XIV passed on the title of Duke of Orléans to his younger brother Philippe (1640–1701), who became the founder of the Bourbon-Orléans line. With the death of Philip I, this title was inherited from father to son by Philip II (1674–1723), regent under the young Louis XV; Louis (1703–1752); Louis Philippe I (1725–1785); Louis Philippe II (1747–1793), a leading figure in the French Revolution who died during the Jacobin Terror; Louis Philippe III (1773–1850), who, as a result of the July Revolution of 1830, ascended the French throne as King Louis Philippe I (August 9, 1830). The rule of the Bourbon-Orleans dynasty in France lasted until the February Revolution of 1848, which overthrew the July Monarchy - on February 24, 1848, Louis Philippe I abdicated the throne. His descendants are Ferdinand-Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1810–1842), Louis-Philippe, Count of Paris (1838–1894), Philip III, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926), Jean, Duke of Guise (1874–1940), Henri, Count of Paris (1908–) and Henri, Count of Clermont (born 1933) - continued and continue to lay claim to the French crown. In 1883, after the death of Henri, Duke of Bordeaux, the rights of the Bourbon-Vendôme line passed to the Bourbon-Orléans, and thus they found themselves at the head of the royal house of France.
One of the branches of the Bourbon Orleans, thanks to the marriage (1864) of one of the grandsons of King Louis-Philippe I, Count Gaston d'E (1842–1821) with the daughter of the last Brazilian emperor Pedro II Isabel Braganza, acquired the rights to the Brazilian throne. After the death of Pedro II in 1891 they passed to their eldest son Pedro (1875–1940), who in 1908 abandoned them in favor of his younger brother Luis (1878–1922); they were inherited by Luis' son Pedro Henrique (1909–1981), and then by his grandson Luis ( born 1938).
Through the marriage of Louis XIII with the daughter of the Spanish king Philip III (1598–1621) Anna of Austria and the marriage of Louis XIV with the daughter of his successor Philip IV (1621–1665) Maria Theresa of Austria, the Bourbon-Vendomes became related to the Spanish Habsburgs, which allowed them after the death of the childless King Charles II (1665–1700) to lay claim to the throne of Spain; On November 1, 1700, it was occupied by the grandson of Louis XIV, Duke Philip of Anjou (born 1683) under the name Philip V, who became the founder of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. Philip V was able to retain the crown in the fight against a coalition of European powers ( cm. WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESS), however, under the terms of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, he had to renounce for himself and for his offspring the rights to the crown of France. The Bourbons ruled Spain until 1808: Philip V (1700–1724, 1724–1746), his sons Louis I (1724), Ferdinand VI (1746–1759), Charles III (1759–1788) and the latter's son Charles IV (1788–1788) 1808). After the rebellion in Aranjuez, Charles IV abdicated the throne on March 19, 1808, but Napoleon I prevented the accession of his eldest son and heir Ferdinand: during a meeting in Bayonne, he forced Charles IV (May 6) and Ferdinand (May 10) to renounce their rights to the Spanish crown and handed it over to his brother Joseph Bonaparte (June 6). The defeats of Napoleon I in 1812–1813 paved the way for the restoration of the Spanish Bourbons: by the Treaty of Valence on December 8, 1813, the French Emperor recognized Ferdinand as the Spanish king, who took the throne on May 13, 1814 and began to rule as Ferdinand VII (1814–1833). On March 19, 1830, Ferdinand VII changed the law on succession to the throne, giving the right to it to women. Thanks to this, after the death of Ferdinand VII, the crown passed not to his brother Don Carlos the Elder (1788–1855), but to his daughter Isabella II (1833–1868). Don Carlos, together with his supporters (Carlists), raised a rebellion, which was suppressed only seven years later (First Carlist War 1833–1840). As a result of the September Revolution of 1868, Isabella II was overthrown and fled to France on September 30. The Constitution of June 1, 1869 preserved the monarchy, but deprived the Bourbons of the right to the throne. However, a coup d'état on December 29, 1874 led to the Bourbon restoration: Alfonso XII (1874–1885), the son of Isabella II and her cousin Francisco of Asiz (1822–1902), whose father was Francisco de Paula, Duke of Cadiz (1794–1865), received the crown. , eighth son of Charles IV and founder of the Bourbon-Cádiz line. Alfonso XII was succeeded in 1886 by his only son Alfonso XIII, after the victory of the Republicans and Socialists in the municipal elections on April 12, 1931, he left Spain; The constitution of December 9, 1931 abolished the monarchical system.
The regime of F. Franco, established as a result of the civil war of 1936–1939, based on the results of the referendum on June 6, 1947, proclaimed Spain a monarchy (June 26, 1947), but it was a monarchy without a monarch. Only on July 23, 1969, F. Franco appointed Prince Juan Carlos (born 1938), grandson of Alfonso XIII, heir to the Spanish throne. On November 22, 1975, after the death of the dictator, he became king of Spain.
The Carlist movement did not cease after 1840. In 1845, Carlos the Elder transferred his rights to his eldest son, Count Carlos de Montemolin (1818–1861), who, however, abandoned them when he was captured in 1860 while attempting to land in Spain. In 1872, Carlos the Elder's grandson Carlos the Younger, Duke of Madrid (1848–1909), launched the Second Carlist War, but was also defeated (1876). In 1883, his father Juan Carlos, Comte de Montison (1822–1887), a senior member of the Carlist branch, declared himself a contender for the French throne due to the end of the Bourbon-Vendôme line. After the death of Carlos the Younger in 1909, claims to the French and Spanish crowns were inherited by his son Jaime, Duke of Madrid, and then by his brother Alfonso, Duke of San Jaime (1849–1936), with whom the Carlist branch was cut short. Despite this, the Carlists in 1936 refused to recognize Alfonso XIII as the head of the Spanish Bourbons and nominated Francesco Saverio of Bourbon-Parma (1889–1977) as a new candidate; the current Carlist pretender is his eldest son, Carlos Hugo (born 1930).
By the preliminary peace of October 3, 1735, ending the War of the Polish Succession 1733–1735 (confirmed by the Austro-French Treaty of Vienna on November 18, 1738), Austria renounced the kingdom of Naples and Sicily in favor of Don Carlos of Parma, fifth son of Philip V of Spain, with the condition that it will not be united with Spain. In 1759, Don Carlos became king of Spain, passing Naples and Sicily to his third son, Don Fernando (1751–1825), who founded the Neapolitan Bourbon line under the name Ferdinand IV. In 1806 he was expelled from Naples by Napoleonic troops, but with the help of the English fleet he retained power over Sicily; Napoleon I transferred the Neapolitan crown first to his brother Joseph (1806–1808), and then to Marshal I. Murat (1808–1815). After Murat abdicated the Neapolitan throne on May 20, 1815, it was again occupied by Ferdinand IV, who proclaimed himself King of the Two Sicilies in 1816. He was succeeded by his son Francis I (1825–1830), grandson Ferdinand II (1830–1859) and great-grandson Francis II (1859–1860). As a result of the uprising in Sicily in April-May 1860 and the invasion of the kingdom by G. Garibaldi's troops in May-October, Francis II lost his throne; a referendum on October 21, 1860 legalized the overthrow of the Neapolitan Bourbons and approved the entry of Naples and Sicily into a united Italy.
After the death of the childless Francis II in 1894, the rights to the crown of the Two Sicilies passed to his younger brother Alfonso, Count of Caserta (1841–1934), and his descendants, the Bourbons of Calabria. The current contender (since 1964) is Prince Carlo, Count of Caserta, Duke of Calabria and Noto (born 1938).
Through the second marriage (1714) of Philip V of Spain to Elisabeth Farnese (1692–1766), daughter of Odoardo II, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, the Spanish Bourbons acquired rights to the throne of Parma. After the suppression of the Farnese dynasty in the male tribe in 1731, their son Don Carlos became Duke of Parma and Piacenza ( cm. higher). By a preliminary peace on October 3, 1735, he ceded the duchy to the Austrian Habsburgs (son-in-law of Emperor Charles VI, Franz of Lorraine) in exchange for Naples and Sicily. But the Peace of Aachen on October 18, 1748, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession of 1740–1748, returned Parma and Piacenza (adding the Principality of Guastalla) to the Spanish Bourbons. The ducal crown was given to Don Felipe (1720–1765), the younger brother of Don Carlos (Philip of Parma); he founded the Bourbon line of Parma. In 1765 it was inherited by his son Ferdinand. On July 28, 1801, according to the Franco-Spanish Treaty of San Ildefonso on October 1, 1800, Ferdinand's son and heir Louis (1773–1803) took the throne of the Kingdom of Etruria, created by Napoleon I from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. After the death of Ferdinand on October 9, 1802, Napoleon I took Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla from the Bourbons. With the death of Louis in 1803, the throne of Etruria was inherited by his young son Charles (born 1799) under the regency of his mother Maria Louisa of Spain (1782–1824). On October 27, 1807, Napoleon I liquidated the kingdom of Etruria, and on December 10, Charles lost the Etruscan crown. By decision of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Parma and Piacenza were given to the former French Empress Maria Louise of Austria for life. The Bourbons of Parma, represented by Maria Luisa of Spain, received the Duchy of Lucca as compensation; after the death of his mother in 1824, he was inherited by Charles, the former king of Etruria. In 1847, with the death of Maria Louise of Austria, the Parma Bourbons regained Parma and Piacenza: on December 17, 1847, the duchy passed to Charles (Charles II), who had previously (October 15) abandoned Lucca (annexed to Tuscany). After the abdication of Charles II in 1848, the Parma crown was inherited by his son Charles III (born 1823), and after the assassination of Charles III in 1854, by his grandson Robert I (born 1848). In May 1859, a popular uprising in Parma overthrew Duke Robert; On September 12 of the same year, by decision of the local Constituent Assembly, the Bourbons were deposed from the Parma throne, and Parma and Piacenza became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
After the death of Robert I in 1907, the contenders for the Parma crown were his sons Enrico (1873–1939), Giuseppe (1875–1950), Elias (1880–1959) and the latter’s son Roberto (1909–1974). With the death of the childless Roberto in 1974, the rights passed to Robert I's seventh son Francesco Saverio, the Carlist candidate for the Spanish throne, and then to Francesco's son Carlos Hugo ( cm. higher).
Thanks to the marriage of Felix (1893–1970), the eighth son of Robert I, with the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Charlotte of Orange (1919), the Bourbons of Parma became the ruling dynasty of Luxembourg in 1964: on November 12, 1964, the throne of the Grand Duchy was occupied by their son Jean (born 1921). In 2000, he handed over the crown to his eldest son Henri (b. 1955).
Ivan Krivushin
