elisabethofyorks:

15 February - Birth of King Louis XV
When Louis XV was born on February 15, 1710, no one expected that he would ever reach the throne. His mother, Marie Adelaide of Savoy, had two sons—both Louis as well—before Louis XV was born at Versailles.A series of family tragedies changed the direction of Louis’ life. He was an infant when his grandfather died, and he was barely a toddler when he lost both of his parents and his older brother to illness. Louis XV became the heir apparent as a result. After his great-grandfather’s death in 1715, he became king at the age of 5. 

Louis XV was too young to actually rule, however, so the Duke of Orleans took control as his regent.Young Louis lived a privileged but lonely life as a child. He was watched over by adults and had little interaction with other children. Tutored by future Cardinal André Hercule de Fleury, Louis XV developed a special interest in science—a near lifelong passion for the monarch. He turned to Fleury soon after the death of his uncle in 1723, and Fleury became Louis’s first minister a few years later.King Louis XV was first betrothed to the daughter of his uncle, Spain’s King Philip V, but he ended up marrying Marie Leszczynska. Marie was the daughter of dethroned king of Poland. Louis XV and Marie wed in 1725, when Louis XV was only 15 years old. The couple had 10 children together—only seven of which lived to adulthood.