louis xiv

Charles II of Spain is, as many of you are aware, the poster child for Habsburg inbreeding. His infertility led to the devastating War of the Spanish Succession, in which France and Austria and their allies jockeyed for the division of the Spanish empire amongst themselves. But what if he had...

So, this is an idea which I've had in my head the last few weeks. I've tried my best to hammer out the first chapter, as sort of a late Christmas / New Years gift. I'm unsure if I will be able to update this as frequently as I have been Anno, but it is something I've wanted to get written out...

So, in 1673 King Louis XIV suppressed the Paris Parlement's right to remonstrate the edicts from the Royal Council until after they had been ratified, essentially allowing him to legislate however he liked. Then, in 1715, the Regent d'Orleans restored the right to remonstrance in exchange for...

In 1658, King Louis XIV became ill, and nearly died. For a brief moment, his younger brother Philippe, would become heir presumptive to the French throne. However his brother recovered, and would go on to become one of the longest reigning monarch in history and arguably one of the greatest...

Your challenge should you chose to accept, is to craft a scenario Louis XIV become Holy Roman Emperor. I remember reading somewhere in 1656 that Cardinal Mazarin tried to have Louis XIV win the election in 1656, though that may have been a facet of some sort of diplomatic scheme as he was only...

I: The Habsburg Miracles The Battle of Vienna (1683) On September 8, 1683, the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary arrived in Vienna. On this holy day, priests, citizens, and soldiers alike poured into the churches of Vienna or failing that, their steps, and prayed. For unlike any previous...

Louis XIII dies childless - which isn't entirely unrealistic as it took 23 years of marriage for him to produce Louis XIV - and his brother Gaston, Duke of Orléans predeceases him. We then only need Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé to die sometime before 1643 for the Grand Condé to succeed...

The POD is that Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois survives. He is the eldest son of the Duke of Orleans, Louis XIV's brother. His mother is Henrietta of England, daughter of Charles I. This means that if the Old Pretender dies before the death of Queen Anne in 1714, this alternate Phillippe II...

what if Ottomans conquered Austria and Bohemia. Will France win every balance of power war in the future because Austria was their biggest continental opponent in OTL?

The Franco-Dutch War began with a French offensive into the United Provinces' territory that advanced with barely any opposition, until they were on the borders of Holland itself. Fearing that the situation could become even worse if the war went on, the Dutch offered Louis XVI control of the...

How much would France chance if more of Louis XIV's children and their children lived? Obviously, there were many that died young, which would make it hard to determine what would happen afterwards, but what would be the possibilities in the political scheme? Alliances? I'm assuming that the...

Let's say Louis XIV doesn't have emotional attachment to his father's hunting lodge. Where else could he build his magnificent palace? If he builds it in a place like Compiegne, popular for the French Kings due to the hunting forests and underdeveloped, would it have a huge effect for subsequent...

I've seen it mentioned in books on the matter that Louis XIV was aspiring to the position of Holy Roman Emperor and would likely have thrown is hat in the ring had Vienna fallen to the Ottomans. The idea was that this would've gravely weakened the position of the Habsburgs. How likely is it...

OTL, King Louis XIV, who lived for ages, outlived not only most of his children but his grandchildren as well, and as a result was succeeded by his great-grandchild, Louis XV. ... and even then he was the third child from that pair. So. yeah. dynastic instability and kings that were about as...

During the 30 Years War, a revolt broke out in northeastern spain, declaring the principality of catalonia under France's louis xiv. However, Spain eventually crushed this revolt. But I'm curious, what if Spain failed to do so, and France was able to secure the region? Would catalonia be...

France has a long history of wanting what we now call 'Belgium,' dating all the way back to when West Francia had the Belgian west coast. Despite this, the only time it ever came close to holding the territory was under napoleon's hegemonic reign. However, during the reign of Louis XIV, France...

So, both Louis XIV and his son, le Grand Dauphin, married privately their mistresses (the King in 1683 to the Marquise de Maintenon, his son in 1695 to Marie Émilie de Joly de Choin) with the Grand Dauphin even having a short-lived son with his second wife. Now, what if both of them had had...

What if instead of marrying Maria Theresa of Spain (while his brother Philippe married first Henrietta of England and after her Lieselotte of the Palatinate), Louis XIV married Henrietta (as her mother wanted) and after her death at a young age married the Princess Palatine, while his brother...

What would happen if in the election of 1656, Louis XIV becomes Holy Roman Emperor? I've heard that Cardinal Mazarin attempted to have him elected as emperor but failed because the Habsburgs controlled the empire. In an alternate timeline, it would be interesting to see how Louis XIV becoming...

The Sun of Rocroi- A better Grand Condé "The purple of the Prince or the sword in the service of the Prince... These two ideals of greatness can only be achieved if one or the other is chosen. " -Louis XIII on his deathbed addressing the Grand Condé before the latter's triumph at Rocroi...