The Bourbon succession relied on Louis XV’s sole surviving son—Louis Ferdinand who was the Dauphin (heir to the throne).
When Louis XV’s children were born, his former governess Madame de Ventadour, who was still like a mother figure to him, became the governess of his own children. She was 75 when the dauphin was born. When he turned 7, the young prince moved from the childrens’ apartment to the Dauphin’s apartment on the ground floor of Versailles with his new governor and tutor.
Like his father, the Dauphin was married at 15 to ensure the dynasty. He married his second cousin, Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon, the 19 year old daughter of the Spanish King – and younger sister of Louis XV’s original fiancée Mariana Victoria! Some saw it as a make good for the previous broken engagement.
Their apartment was set up on the first floor of the wing which now contains the Hall of Battles. They were very happy. The year after the wedding the dauphin’s wife died three days after giving birth to a daughter. He was inconsolable, but the urgency for an heir was still in play, so a new marriage had to be organised.
His late wife Marie-Thérèse had a younger sister and she was suggested as a replacement. This time the King decided enough was enough with marrying one sister after another.
There was also influence from Louis XV’s mistress Madame de Pompadour who had been treated with great disdain by the Dauphin’s first wife. She favoured the 15 year old niece of Maurice de Saxe, the spectacularly successful head of Louis XV’s army.
Marie-Josèphe de Saxe was the daughter of the King of Poland and the Austrian Archduchess Marie-Josèphe of Habsbourg. This was a potential problem with her future mother-in-law, Marie Leszczynska, whose father had been displaced as King of Poland by Marie-Josèphe’s father.
It is a testament to her tact and diplomatic skills that the young Dauphine was able to win the respect of the entire royal family while maintaining a friendship with the King’s mistress who she knew was responsible for her marriage.
