At five years old, Louis XV was not officially old enough to rule (the legal majority for a King was 13). Louis XIV’s nephew, Philippe d’Orleans, became the Regent. Philippe had been pressured into marrying one of Louis XIV’s daughters by his mistress Madame de Montespan. It was an unhappy marriage and Philippe flaunted his many mistresses.
When he became Regent, the forty year old Philippe was a well known “libertine” (French for prolific playboy. He had no interest in living in Versailles.
His main residence was the Palais Bourbon in Paris (now back to its original name of Palais Royal).
Versailles was effectively closed and the young Louis XV was brought to Paris to live in the Tuileries Palace.
Paris was then the style capital and the aristocracy as well as the financiers, wealthy merchants, cultivated bourgeois and nouveau riche all wanted to build new residences, known as “hotels” (English equivalent of mansion, not hotel as we know it today).
Louis XV chose to return to Versailles when he was twelve.
Like his great grandfather Louis XIV, the young king was very interested in architecture and was perfectly capable of reading the plans of the architects and suggesting viable alterations. He undertook large projects in the public areas, but his real interest was in creating small intimate rooms where he could pursue his private interests including libraries and laboratories. He also created small kitchens and dining rooms where only a small number of selected guests were received.
This was entirely in keeping with what was happening with the new residences in Paris. It was the era that introduced “The Boudoir”.
