Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774) is a Bourbon monarch who rules as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death.
He succeeds his great-grandfather at the age of five, though Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, his first cousin twice removed, serves as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723.
Cardinal de Fleury is his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinal's death in 1743, at which time the young king takes over control of the Kingdom.
Louis enjoys a favorable reputation at the beginning of his reign and earns the epithet "le Bien-Aimé" ("the Beloved").
In time, the debauchery of his court, his ill-advised financial policies, the return of the Austrian Netherlands (which were gained following the Battle of Fontenoy) at Aix-la-Chapelle, and the cession of New France at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War lead Louis to become one of the most unpopular kings in the history of France.
He even suffers an assassination attempt in 1757.
However, his reign sees the incorporation of Lorraine and Corsica to the Kingdom.
Uninterested in politics and largely influenced by his chief mistress, Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's decisions damage the power of France, weaken the treasury, and discredit the absolute monarchy.
(The French Revolution breaks out 15 years after his death.)
He is succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI in 1774.
